White Hibiscus: Filament
by yu-pon
Summary: Ulquiorra's story, mostly about his past before his entrance during the Arrancar Arc ;told from his own perspective; includes chunks of the author's imagination plus tiny interactions with other characters from the manga. -Part 1-
1. 一 The Genesis of Gloom

**White Hibiscus~ホワイト・ハイビスカス~  
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**Greetings!  
**Thank you for stumbling onto this tiny story~  
I would be very delighted already to see you coming here, albeit the fact that it might have been an accidental click!  
Of course, you may like to take your time to read what I have for you (grins)~  
(for those who did not manage to see Chapter 1 because I writing up this.. I apologise!)

Let me tell you what you will expect to read~  
Ulquiorra of course, but I've never intended it to be Ulquiorra x Inoue Orihime fic; there will be tinges of it.  
I love that pairing, but this author wants to show you Ulquiorra's life may not always be revolving around Orihime-san!  
(and there are many many many better fics out there that focus very well on this pairing ↑↑)

Disclaimers: I do not own Bleach and their characters (definitely); they are all masterpieces from Kubo-sensei~

Some parts may sound wierd in English; because I was visualising the dialogue in Japanese haha.  
誤解されたら、申し訳ありませんでした！(If I had caused any misunderstandings, I'm terribly sorry for that)

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**「一」 The Genesis of Gloom**

Can you recall the very day you were born into this world?  
Do you remember the slightest details that happened on that day?  
For a very strange reason, I could.

Before I could see, I was listening.  
There were voices talking.

"This one looks special, "said the first voice.  
"Aww, isn't it rare to hear Aizen praising someone?" joked the second.  
"That's because good things are hard to come by, Gin, "replied Aizen.

The things that these figures described me as: _Special_,_ rare_, _good things_.

Although I never knew what made them said those things, I never questioned them.

"He brings with him a lot of potential," said the third voice.  
"And I can't agree further," Aizen spoke again.

All of a sudden, there was an air of awkward silence.  
The voices stopped talking to one another – and the reason was me – they were waiting.

It took me some time before I finally saw who were standing in front of me.  
I knew their names, even before they introduced. And I understood what they were capable of, what their intentions were. There were no explanations made, it all seemed to me like pre-installed knowledge.

"Ulquorria Schiffer, Cuarta Espada, "Aizen gave me this name.  
In a blink of an eye, I was branded the number four.

"Now now, you should meet the rest of the Espadas, "Gin spoke gleefully.  
I could sense that they were not very friendly.

One charged at me.  
He was yelling something along the way, but he was of no interest to me.

_Dangerous yet fragile, like that of an empty shell._

Instinctively, I grabbed him by the neck and glanced at the bespectacled leader – he remained silent about my sudden movement. My left hand was still on the Espada, who attempts to launch a counterattack – I stopped it without much effort.

"Interesting," Aizen commented and walked away.

As he looked up the roof, the Espada shattered away like glass fragments.

That was the first time I saw _Kyouka Suigetsu_.

"Spot-on Analysis, "Tousen remarked shortly after Aizen's words.

The three of them then walked towards the door.

"In three days, you should be able to find your own sword. In four, know how to release it. I'll give you further orders later" That was my first order from Aizen Sousuke.

I bowed. My existence was to obey and to fulfill.

Performing exceptionally well in Hueco Mundo does not give you a promotion; nor will you receive a compliment for it. That is because you are capable of what you are the moment you came to this world.

I knew that after I found Murciélago three hours later.

Wielding it by my right hand, I looked at the scenery lying in front of me – white sands under a completely dark sky. This is where I was born, a world filled with nothing but sheer despair.

My chapter has just begun.

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**yu-pon's note:**

It's been a long time since i revisited my account!! I decided to start off this account with a Bleach fanfic (^w^)v

Also, i have to apologise for the writing - because i'm not exactly very proficient in English - i can't use very bombastic vocabulary to describe what i want to convey. I'll try my best! 頑張ります！  
これからも、よろしくお願いしまーすぅ

until the next chapter, ほなおつ！！


	2. 二 The Flawless Usurper

**White Hibiscus~****ホワイト・ハイビスカス**

**「二」 The Flawless Usurper**

In Hueco Mundo, a land painted with the darkest skies and the palest sands; a dimension with no day or night – nobody gets sleepy over here.

The lack of activities pushes the souls to a state where they are no longer sane – they begin to invent their own fun – slaughtering one another. Numerous killings take place by the seconds. Hollows, Arrancars, even Espadas clash swords with one another on a daily basis – just to satisfy their unfathomable obsession over the number '1'.

_What's so special about this number anyway?_

Should one decide to enroll in a one-day tour out of Las Noches and stride into the sands of Hueco Mundo, Sonido is recommended to deal with the ' weather conditions '.

I have, in my three days of existence, witnessed a few kinds of ' weather conditions '.

Firstly, it rains in some parts of Hueco Mundo – bones, heads, and sometimes the shards of broken zanpakutous. Secondly, when strong spiritual winds blow across the white plains, weak Ceros get deflected and they might just appear out of nowhere. Thirdly, you get to hear sounds coming from different directions – hysterical laughter from the victors; and the moans of the loser.

This world that I live in, fails to interest me.

There is one exception.

_Aizen Sousuke._

He has proven himself to be quite different from my daily observations – his obsessions and ambitions, for example. He does not speak outright – he wants you to see it with your own eyes – it's his way of convincing you what he's capable of. He tells you things like 'you are worth nothing to me but a dispensable commodity '; yet grants you absolute freedom to do whatever you want as long as it's part of achieving the shared ambition. He lets you in on his thoughts and asks you if you are going to be part of it.

" A dream? No, no such thing, Ulquiorra, "

" It's the future, Ulquiorra. "

There's no doubt, that if I choose to follow this man, I will get to see a different world than the one I'm currently stuck in. After all, I was created to achieve his ambitions and to turn that into a reality.

_What will the new world look like?_

As I looked at the endlessly dark sky from the balconies of Las Noches, a voice tore the silence surrounding me.

_What exactly are you after, Ulquiorra Schiffer?_

I tried to locate the source of the voice, but to no avail.

_An intruder? _

The voice asked again.

_What do you wish for, Ulquiorra Schiffer?_

" What are you? "I questioned the voice.

_You sought my help, and you don't know my name?_

"...Murciélago,"

_Don't you want to be better than what you are right now?_

Why do we have to yearn to be better all the time?

" A penny for your thoughts, Ulquiorra, " Aizen was just behind me.

" Do we all have to be after something in order to be better? "

" Wow, that's a difficult one, isn't it? "He joked.

" I was repeating the questions someone said a few minutes ago,"

" You see, apparently it seems like the fastest way to get to your dreams,"

" Like the way Hollows kill one another to be Arrancars..."

" Not quite, Ulquiorra. It's meaningless to be number one, when you get defeated straight after someone notices your weakness, "Aizen closed his eyes and let out a sigh.

" Don't you wish to be number one too? "

" No. That thought did not cross my head at all. "

I turned round and faced Aizen. He did not seem surprised about what he had said previously; like as if it was pretty normal for the highest authority of Las Noches to make such a statement.

Aizen was looking at his right palm for a few seconds; he looked up as he made an O-shape with his fingers.

" Zero. Ulquiorra, "

" Being number one doesn't fascinate me at all. Being the origin does. "

" After all, I already have ten Number Ones lined up for those Arrancars to chase their lifelong dream, I'm a very magnanimous person right, " he smiled.

That's the reason why Aizen Sousuke is the leader of the Espadas; and why most of us follow him with due respect – he doesn't want to be the top; he wants to be the sole existence. His greed, his desires and his power has exceeded beyond my imaginations. He is the variable that differs from everything else. He turns this world into somewhere worth surviving in.

" Ulquiorra, you should meet the other Espadas too. At least know what their names are before they turn into dust, "Aizen gave me a pat on the back and leaned against the platform.

" Of course, you do know what I mean by 'meeting the other Espadas', don't you? "

Aizen had just demanded for a list of their strengths and their weaknesses.

An order has been given; I have to execute it immediately.

" Ah, one word of advice. Good luck with No. 3, though," Aizen pointed out as he left the room.

" Murciélago...

Those questions you asked, I wonder if I can ever give you an answer.

I do not wish to get stronger; I'm fine with the current state I'm in.

If you are sick and tired of such a wielder, you can abandon and seek a more able soul. "

_You don't wish to be stronger, because you haven't met one that's stronger than you._

_Someone stronger.._

It was then I thought that I should pay No.3 a visit. Whoever the person may be.

If I were to be the Cuarta Espada, how much stronger would No.3 be?

Across the large hall where the Espadas meet occasionally, there's a long walkway covered with white pillars. Beyond that path lies a circular room with three doors – with each door leading to different parts of Las Noches. No. 3 is located at the first door right now – the place where Espadas clash swords with Arrancars who want to take over their place.

I wasn't thinking much when I pushed the door open; I had only wanted to see with my own eyes – what Murciélago meant by saying all those words.

There were about twenty bodies lying under the blue skies of Las Noches -heavily injured but not completely dead. A few pillars collapsed in a random manner – a battle just ended. The dust cleared, and a shadow revealed.

No. 3 had long green hair and _he_ looked physically different, yet _he_ seemed pretty strong – for he has not even drawn out his sword.

That person inhaled deeply.

" Uwaa~ done! Now I can go have lunch with them! I'm hungryyy!! "_He_ raised both hands in the air and jumped triumphantly.

_He_ sounded different too, a little higher-pitched than most of us.

_What on earth are you, Tercera Espada?_

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**yu-pon's note:**

Whew -- done! Almost entirely based on imagination though, this chapter -- eheh ~~did some attempts with introducing Aizen into the story - although we might not hear of him in the actual story; but i suppose he should mean to Ulquiorra quite a great deal ya? At least that's how I feel about it. Anyway, Ulquiorra is a very interesting person with a dull mindset - forgive me for saying this.  
but as the story progresses along, who knows? fufufu~

Look out for his interactions with the Tecera Espada in the next chapter!  
(I hope someone does know why i gave the third Espada itallics whenever Ulquiorra said that it's a 'he' ^o^)

until the next chapter, ほなおつ！！


	3. 三 When Mars meets Venus I

**White Hibiscus~****ホワイト・ハイビスカス  
**

**「三」 When Mars meets Venus ~Part I~  
**

I guess it was Aizen's idea that he wanted the color of the skies in Las Noches to be blue – so that we get accustomed easily if we were to invade into Seireitei. Not that I have any objections with the color of such a bright sky; but it blurs my vision sometimes. After observing the Espada for a few seconds; I begin to find myself landing into a difficult situation – the report seemed incomplete.

Espadas that are ranked Cuarta and above have extremely high levels of reiatsus; so huge that Aizen forbade us to release our swords whenever we are in Las Noches. Tercera certainly has a strong reiatsu – but it did not seem aggressive, rather _he_ seemed protective over something.

_  
What was he protecting?_

Tercera had long and wavy green hair; the longer strands reached the waist level There was a crimson line that stretched across the area below her grayish eyes. _His _Hollow Mask was of a menacing skull which seemed like it was chewing onto _his _head. Tercera had really large round eyes; they were larger than mine. _He_ noticed my presence shortly; and _he_ began to walk closer. It was then I realized _he_ had larger eyes than I do. Was _he_ analyzing my weaknesses too?

"Ano!!" _He _stopped and let out an exclamation.

"Tercera Espada," _Is he planning on launching a close range attack? Why didn't he just use Sonido and finish me off in the first place? If he's No.3, his speed should be way faster than I am. Through his physical movements, there isn't a slightest hint of him wanting to kill me, yet. – What a weird fellow._

Quite unexpectedly, Tercera raised _his_ left hand and waved.

"Ohaayoo! How are you? It's such a fine weather right? I know it is! Las Noches is usually sunny! Come, let's go for lunch! You must be my new Fracción member or something, even though I've never heard Pesche or Dondochakka mentioning about you... but anyhow! Welcome!" Tercera smiled at me.

"No. I'm..."

"Uwaa you have a lot of reiatsu with you! Wow and a zanpakutou! That's a good thing, especially when you are in this room – because the Arrancars just won't stop barging in... It's troubling... at this rate, this room will need some major repairs, and "Tercera frowned and crossed his hands..

"Ulquiorra Schiffer, " I tried to stopped him from digressing.

" Ara? What's that? Today's menu? "

" My name. Cuarta Espada. "

" Oooo! So you are that newbie Aizen talked about?! You look pretty small built for an Espada.. "

" It doesn't matter. "

" Un un!! You are swifter that way. Anyway, are we still going for lunch? I'm hungry... "

_  
I thought Espadas don't even need to eat? _

" I'm not hungry, Tercera... "

" Neliel. But Pesche always gets my name wrong, so we shortened it to just Nel~~ You can call me Nel yo, I'm fine with it. Okay, let's go!"

_  
How many times has he ignored my sentences? Does the third Espada have problems in communicating with other Espadas? Which is why Aizen pointed out this Espada and showed particular interest in him?  
_

He grabbed my hand.  
Instinctively, I withdrew mine.

" Hmm? You belong to the shy type? Sokka... but ne ne, you know opposite complements? Who knows, we can make a perfect couple! Haha! "

A perfect... _couple?_

" That is not possible. "

"Why not? You are a guy, and I'm a lady... It's logical. "

" A lady? "

" Sou yo, a lady. Onna da yooo ~~– you mean you haven't seen a lady before?! " Neliel's eyes were bigger this time. She stared hard into my green irises, as if I was of a different species.

"No. What's the difference anyway? "

" Eheh~ what's the difference? Uru... " Neliel let out a sinister smile but her eyebrows quickly furrowed when she tried hard to pronounce my name.

"Ulquiorra. " _I suppose she will frown even further if I gave her my full name._

" Ahh it's such a difficult name! Uru-san, don't you think we are different? In terms of this.... and this..? and my voice? And my looks? " Neliel tried to explain the differences to me by drawing two circles round her chest and kept grinning at me.

"There is a difference."

" Un! You learn things very quickly. My guess is that you were Hollow for too long – that you forgot the existence of genders. Or maybe you just tend to hang around more with the guys! But there are females around Hueco Mundo yo!! Remember, I'm a lady! "

" Ladies... talk more than guys. "

" You are so rude! If I were to talk in the same tone like you do, won't we all fall asleep sooner or later?" Neliel crossed her arms and nodded silently.

" Don't you use up more reiatsu speaking in this tone? "

" Not at all! Don't you think the area looks so much better when you talk like this? After all, there's nothing much we can do in Hueco Mundo, we need to liven this place up a little!"

" I prefer my way. "

Just as I was struggling to gather a proper report of Neliel, the lesser wounded Arrancars began to recover– there were three preparing to launch a Cero attack on us. Two were cursing Neliel for not taking the fight seriously.

"Mouu!! When will you guys ever stop? " She shouted across the room.

" What, now... You call another chibi Espada over to fight us? Stop fooling around! "One Arrancar growled at Neliel.

" I'm not related to her, at all. And, I'm not ordered to finish you, "

Even after I severed my relationships with Neliel, I was almost positive that they were not listening.

" As long as you are not with us, you are in cahoots with her!" The other snapped in.

_Foolish._

Three Ceros were aimed at Neliel all at the same time – _she's not going to be able to dodge all of them._

" Protect the room! You don't want to see it crashing down don't you? "

_So that's what she's been protecting all along._  
Neliel managed to stop two attacks bare handedly, where she began to swallow both of them at the same time. This was my first time observing how a real Espada fight – she was really strong. The last Cero, however, was directed at me, for no particular reason.

One Cero blast is not a huge problem. I swept the Cero onto the ground and fired another one, missing the target intentionally. Neliel, on the other hand, combined both Ceros together and launched a Cero Doble. She, too, missed both Arrancars, leaving the two of them trembling with fear.

" Stop being so childish! Now go back to where you belong until you provide me with solid reasons to fight you, "Neliel pointed to the door that separated Las Noches from Hueco Mundo.

_Neliel has little killing intent when dealing with someone she deems unworthy to fight with; hence it becomes a weakness when she's facing a stronger opponent – for she will not attack on full force until she sees the need to; delaying her efficiency._

_Her strengths are that she's is generally composed and performs quick and decisive actions. She needs a reason to fight and the nature of her reiatsu gets stronger when she's protecting something (in this case, the Las Noches room.)  
_

" It's time that I make my departure. " My report seems slipshod though.

"No no no! I have yet to introduce you to Pesche and Dondochakka! And we promised to have lunch together! "

Neliel made another attempt to grab my arm, this time she used Sonido; knowing that I would have shunned it immediately.

_Somehow, I allowed her to hold onto my right arm.  
_

" I did not promise you, Neliel."

_  
Neliel's speed is below that of mine, but she has increased flexibility as she moves with Sonido._  
I added another line to the report.

Perhaps I would be able to gather a little more information about Neliel by spending more time with her.

"But you allowed me to grab your hand, it means you consented to it. heh heh ~~" Neliel flashed that sinister smile, again.

After all, she was right about something.

_There is nothing much to do at Hueco Mundo._

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**yu-pon's note:**

did another chapter while i still have the inspiration to complete this part on Neliel and Ulquiorra. (^o^)v  
as i couldn't remember the finer details of Neliel, i did refer to a few manga shots of her. (I do understand that in the anime, her hair is a little bluish-green XDD)

While we don't get to see a lot of Nel now, I kinda missed her. So i thought " why not give her a past? " and tadaa -- i came up with this, hee.  
This is only part one! I still have a part two coming up between the two Espadas XDDD!! You'll get to meet Pesche and Dondochakka - the Sentai team!

**and!!** i would like to thank those who reviewed the fanfic, thank you so much for reading!!! it encourages me to write on, seriously! ありがとう!

until the next chapter, ほなおつ～


	4. 四 When Mars meets Venus II

**White Hibiscus~****ホワイト・ハイビスカス**

**「四」 When Mars meets Venus ~ Part 2 ~**

There are definitely times you ask yourself questions.  
As far as I do not question what my higher-ups instruct me to do, I do question my own decisions.  
Among the many '_questionable_' decisions I had made, most were committed at the spur of the moment; just because I happen to feel curious at that instant.

Occasionally, I feel deeply regretful of my somewhat _rash_ actions; although that's not commonly seen of me.  
Seriously, I should not be doing _this_.

I have to give myself consistent reminders that it's all for the sake of Aizen's instructions.  
Just as I was wondering if I would be doing some very foolish things later,

I had to witness myself _walking on air._  
No, it's not Sonido.  
I'm not moving. _Something _is moving me.

It's...

"Neliel..."

"Hmm?"Her green hair was dancing to the wind resistance. Neliel was daydreaming; for she seemed pretty oblivious to her surroundings – the existence of an Espada that went along by the name of Ulquiorra Schiffer, for example.

"I can walk on my own. "

"Ahh!!"Neliel released her grip almost instantaneously upon realizing what she had been doing for the past six minutes – grabbing my arm and sprinting at a speed she calls "Super Sonido" - which looked as if she's darting across air particles. As I had already anticipated her blundering actions (by now it already seemed like something common), I did not end up tumbling into the marble flooring of Las Noches – which would look embarrassing if it did actually happen.

Neliel kept apologizing as we began to walk down the long corridors of Las Noches. She tried to provide me with explanations; that she was afraid that I might not hold on to my promise – to have 'lunch' with her Fracción members. As much as I do loathe myself for what I had consented to earlier, _a promise is a promise_.

"Uru-san?" Neliel turned back and walked over.

"Ulquiorra."

"Are you angry? "

"No."

"You look kind of angry to me. "

"Do I? " Was I angry? I did not even noticed that myself.

"Because you are not smiling. It could only mean that you are angry. "

" No, I'm not angry. "

" Hmm sokka. We have to settle your glum face."

"We...? "

"Yep we've reached!! " Neliel ran towards the door.

I have an extremely _bad _feeling about this.

Each and every Espada has their own exclusive place of residence (well, Aizen tends to call them _rooms; _even though they look far too spacious to be called that.); they are located very far apart from one another for a reason – imagine if two Espadas happen to reside next to one another like neighbors; the reiatsu might be too much for their Fracción; despite the Espadas' concealing most of them when they are out of the battlefield.

While most Espadas didn't bother much about what they are given, Neliel's Fracción seemed pretty particular about the way their living quarters should look like.

When I saw what was lying in front of me, I wondered if Aizen has ever stepped into this part of Las Noches. Didn't he say anything about this?

The walls were white; I guess it was more like a rule each and every building has to abide when it wishes to survive in Las Noches. There were flowers at the sides of the walkway leading to the main door. Neliel's had painted the inner walls with violet; each individual room had a different shade of blue. The dining room seemed extremely bright with a chandelier-like fixture located in the middle of the round table.

It was where I met her Fracción for the first time.  
In fact, it was the first time I saw a Fracción.

Neliel grinned and nodded hardly. "Meet Pesche and Dondochakka!! My wonderful Fracción!! "

I wasn't sure what to say when I met her Fracción.  
_Self introduction_, I suppose.

"Ul..."

"AH! " Pesche exclaimed.

"You must be Ulquiorra-sama!! " Dondochakka continued.

"Yes I am "  
_So there's no need for self-introduction. But what did Dondochakka just address me by?_

"Nel-sama, should we also fix lunch for Ulquiorra-sama? " Pesche asked as Dondochakka went into the kitchen.

"Hmm... Uru-san did say he didn't want to eat... "Neliel scratched her head.

"I'm not hungry,"

"Ulquiorra-sama, you can have at least some soup. It's bad to walk around with an empty stomach, "Pesche insisted.

I turned to look at Pesche, who looked onto the floor immediately.

"I am Ulquiorra all right, but why is that you address me as _sama_?"

"Pesche, get him some tea yo. Uru-san is a veryyy grumpy old man today, "Neliel grinned at Pesche.

"Understood, Nel-sama. If you would excuse me, Nel-sama. "

Neliel walked in front of me and explained.  
"Espadas ne... we are usually addressed as _sama_ by our Fracción because, we are ranked higher than them. "

"Which means, Aizen... "

"HOHH!!" Neliel covered her mouth after that loud exclamation; her eyes became very large; she started to walk backwards, before running into the kitchen.

_Is it okay to leave your guest standing in the middle of the dining room, alone?_

"Eeeee!?!? He really said that!?" I can hear Dondochakka next.  
"Sugee naaa~~~ "Pesche's voice came in after three seconds.

The trio walked out from the kitchen slowly, with Pesche and Dondochakka whispering among themselves while holding onto the trays of food. Neliel, on the other hand, approached me with her arms crossed at the back. She looked into my eyes and asked.

"You call...Aizen-sama...Ai...ai... "Neliel found it hard to complete her sentence.

"Aizen," I finished it for her.

The trio was gathered together and started discussing; I could hear Dondochakka whispering " Sonna kankei na no? (*Their relationships were of _that_ kind?) "- _I did not quite figure out what made him said that, though._

Neliel walked up to me once more.

"You are the Cuarta Espada, right? "

"Yes. "

"Ano... you shouldn't call Aizen-sama... the way you addressed him just now yo, it's very rude to do that. "

"Why so? "

"Dattte... he's the leader of Las Noches deshou? He's ranked higher than all the Espadas yo. So you should affix a 'sama' after his name... "

"Oh, I see... "

It wasn't much of a hassle; but I didn't see the big fuss about it because Aizen... Aizen-sama didn't say anything when I called him by his first name.

"I thought you and him were _something else_... "Neliel gave a sinister smile again.

"Something else?"

"Ohohoho I shouldn't elaborate!! Pesche, Dondochakka! You know what I mean by 'something else' right? "The trio began to laugh among themselves. _Is this supposed to be an inside joke?_

"Let's have lunch! " Neliel pulled out the chairs and invited me to sit over.

"Itadakimaassuuu!!! " The trio clapped their hands and said in unison. Shortly after, they began to look at me.

"Uru-san? Given this situation, you should say ' Itadakimasu '. Be thankful that you have a meal laid right in front of you, "Neliel explained, again.

I looked down at what was served to me. - A white porcelain soup bowl placed on top of a small plate, with a silver spoon laid beside it. The soup was yellow in color – the smell of corn, I suppose.

It did not smell bad.  
For that, I'm thankful that it did not look as bad as I had expected it to be.

"Itadakimasu. "

"Wow Pesche this is good!!!! Umaaaiiii!!! "Neliel was waving her fork to catch Pesche's attention. Apparently, they had close-to-_zero_ table manners. Dondochakka was laughing heartily as he was reaching out for the bread; Pesche was sipping his soup and kept nodding at Neliel. They were all talking very loudly.

This would have seemed pretty normal if I were to be dining in with humans. Yet...it's extremely puzzling to be seen dining with an Espada and her Fracción over at Hueco Mundo.

"Neliel, "

"Hmm? " Neliel has part of the spaghetti left dangling out her lips.

"I didn't know we ate, "

"Ah! It's an optional thing you see. It's up to us. My Fracción enjoys sitting down together like this hence we made it compulsory to have meals!! After some time, even though we don't really eat, you feel hungry when mealtime approaches!! Communication is a very important tool yoo, especially when you have a Fracción, "Neliel slurped the remaining bit of the spaghetti and licked the tomato chunk that was stuck at the end of the lip.

Neliel's Fracción continued with their jokes after their dinner.  
Pesche and Dondochakka even displayed a pose which they had intended to show the intruding Arrancars; marking their _grand_ entrance. Neliel agreed that it was a perfect idea and joined in the fun – and ended up inventing more poses. This particular _room_ seemed to have filled Las Noches with a lot of laughter that night.

Neliel then took me to the upper level where there was an open-air deck facing a tiny part of Hueco Mundo.

"This is my No.1 favorite spot of Hueco Mundo, "Neliel stretched out her arms and inhaled deeply.

I looked out and I saw the silver crescent moon shining down onto the motionless desert.

"Do you know, across the darkness, somewhere over there, is where you stay? " Neliel pointed at a northeast direction.

"How do you know? "

"By feeling your reiatsu. You have a weirdly monotonous reiatsu. Oh! Do you know your reiatsu is green in color? It resembles a lot like your eyes; mine's pink in color. In case you do not know, your reiatsu doesn't seem volatile but it's very powerful. From this deck, you can see almost every Espada from here. They are not visible but you can feel their presence," Neliel leaned her arms at the end of the deck.

"There are a lot of things you can't see with your eyes, so you feel them like this, "Neliel pointed this out to me and closed her eyes.

"I only believe in what I see, "

"Sokka. It takes time I guess. You are just not used to the way this world works, "Neliel giggled.

"What is so funny? "

"Nothing. One day, Ulquiorra. When you find something you really want to protect, so much so that you can even sacrifice your life for it, you can become the strongest thing in the world. I suppose that was why you met me over at that room, earlier today. "She pronounced my name correctly, for the first time.

"Why are you even sharing this with me? "

"Because... we are friends! Aren't we? "

_Friends_. I do not comprehend the meaning of this word.

"Anyway, you should invite us over too. For a meal or something! "Neliel suggested.

I should return the favor.  
I wanted to, _but I never had the chance to._

For that was one of the last few times that I saw Neliel and her Fracción.

Her reiatsu disappeared the following week; and was never to be seen again in Las Noches. Aizen-sama said she was taken out by a joint effort of an Espada and another Arrancar - Nnoitra Jiruga and Szayel Aporro Grantz respectively. I happened to look away when Aizen-sama stopped talking.

"Ulquiorra, you seemed pretty concerned, "

"Aizen...sama," I recalled what Neliel had said to me previously.

"Oh, you've learnt something eh. " Aizen noted the change.

"Neliel's definitely stronger than Nnoitra and Szayel combined. I've observed her fighting after all, "

"That's true. But that fight was not a fair one. Neliel lost because she was caught off guard, which should not be expected of an Espada, "Aizen-sama did not seem concerned that a Third Espada had been taken off the Espada army.

"Will Nnoitra replace her as the Third Espada then? "

"No, that is not going to happen. Perhaps, due to his display of skills, he might get a change in Espada ranks; but he's still not good enough to be Tercera. It seems like I have to start finding another person to take over the Tercera position. "Aizen-sama sighed as he turned his back.

I left Aizen-sama and walked up the spiral staircase connecting to the balcony which overlooked a part of Hueco Mundo. Neliel had taught me certain things, tiny little things that seemed pretty insignificant – but it definitely changed the world I would see. I looked across the dark skies, where Neliel had once said it was where her residence was. That place was now empty and lifeless - no more fighting and quarreling between her Fracción over trivial matters like the decorations on the ceramic plate. There was no laughter and hopping around either.

_As if Las Noches was a playground..._

Some part of me felt a slight twitch. Even though I had ignored it, I assumed a certain part of me was trying to adapt. It was trying to eradicate the existence of Neliel.

_I heard her laughter instead._

I felt her reiatsu somewhere. Faint, but it was hers.  
_Mine's pink in color_…  
I tried to follow the trail, and it seemed to be lurking around the white plains.

_Neliel was alive somewhere, along with Pesche and Dondochakka..._

Neliel, I wonder if it's wrong of me to think of it this way.  
You do not suit this place at all; it's filled with too many vicious monsters with no sane logic in their heads.

The fact that you left Las Noches, might be a blessing in disguise after all.

Farewell, Neliel.  
May we meet again; under the same sky, someday, somehow.

Although I didn't know what made me say that; I passed off as something I should say as 'Neliel's_ friend'_.

Before I left the balcony, I looked down once more to where the sands lay motionless; and happened to catch sight of three tiny shadows scampering across...

* * *

**yu-pon's notes:**

Thank you so much for reading!!  
It brightens my day when I see people reading this little fanfic!  
First of all I would like to apologise for this rather-late update! I had actually started writing once the previous chapter was completed; but somehow I didn't know how I wanted the story to flow, so I took some time to think about the possible ideas that can make up this chapter. As of now, I have not thought of what to write yet…I saw a particular request for a Stark appearance - that's a good idea (^o^)v!!

When inspiration knocks on my head, that's when you'll see Chapter Five!! がんばりますー！  
until the next chapter, ほなおつ！！


	5. 五 Appeasing The Irascible

**White Hibiscus~****ホワイト・ハイビスカス~**

**「五」 ****Appeasing the Irascible**

How long has it been since I kept this pair of eyes open?  
For a strange reason, they can't seem to sleep today.  
Didn't it sound peculiar that I mentioned that I wanted to sleep?  
Espadas don't sleep, it's a fact. They _can't_.  
Somehow, sleeping makes one feel that time actually passes in Hueco Mundo – even if the moon never sets here.

Since my eyes refuse to close whatsoever, I shall take a walk down to familiar myself with the many rooms of Las Noches. There is still a lot of time to waste, after all.

I passed by the meeting room where the Espadas gather whenever Aizen-sama wants to talk to us.  
The seat where he usually sat had been empty for quite some time.

The reason why, Aizen-sama had just went back to Soul Society to manage his Fifth Division. The other two captains had also went back to see if it's the right time to strike their plans.  
One might wonder how Aizen-sama manages to travel to and fro at ease – well, he has the Zanpakutou's abilities to thank for. Although the effect of hypnosis is able to last for a very long time, one can still see through its tricks if he is a newcomer to Seireitei – someone who has yet to have seen his sword. He still has to make trips back to Soul Society to see if things are going the way he had planned it to be. No one ever realizes, whether the 5th Division Captain has been switched with the real guy or not – it is that hard to differentiate.

Now that the top leaders are currently away in Las Noches, Aizen-sama had entrusted me with this white and huge architecture. His instructions were " Make sure the building is in the same condition I see it today. " and " You still have yet to submit your report with a few of the Espadas; given your ability, they should be ready when I get back, am I right to say that? ", followed by his signature mystifying smile.

It's not a very easy task, especially when you are still quite new to the premises.

Las Noches seemed to me like a endless labyrinth where doors only open to more doors; the rooms that marked the end of the maze merely indicates another beginning of a spatial puzzle – the initial doors that you entered from are not the doors of exit – you have to find them yourselves. No one loves to explore Las Noches, because it's always in a state of constant change. Come to think of it, the main designer of this place was Ichimaru Gin. He was often seen tweaking with the settings of the room; which had caused a few Espadas to be stranded in different parts of the castle. Somehow he enjoyed gazing at the panicky expressions of the Espada's Fracción.

" Hey, where do you think you are going ? "  
Someone happened to shatter my thoughts of this huge castle.

I halted my movements; glancing at the stranger with the end of my right eye.  
" Who are you? "

" You are that Cuarta Espada right? Tch, I wonder what's wrong with _him_ giving you this title. You look so weak though, "

_Weak?_  
That word picked up my interest in this stranger. _What makes him think that I'm weaker?_  
I breathed out, "It doesn't matter, "and continued walking.

The stranger did not want the conversation to end that quickly.  
He dashed up forward and tapped my right shoulder before appearing right in front of me, with a flash of a rather wide grin._  
Sonido_. At this speed, he must be an Espada too.

" Naa, Cuarta Espada... "The Espada started speaking again.

" You... Don't deserve to be No. 4 yo, "he continued as his eyes scanned down at my zanpakutou.

I studied the stranger's appearance. Apart from the rather striking blue hair, parts of the Hollow mask remained at the right jaw area. He seemed to have left the white jacket open on purpose; baring his Hollow hole at the abdomen area. The sleeves had been rolled up at both arms, revealing the inner color of the jacket – black. He wore a hakama which had a black sash binding his waist area; and his Zanpakutou was located at his left hip.

" Really? "I showed no interest in this Espada. The reason was obvious – he's merely exaggerating. There must be a reason why Aizen-sama gave me the Cuarta position. In fact, it wouldn't matter to me at all if I were the last Espada anyway.

" I don't like you, Cuarta Espada, " His left hand begun to fiddle with the hilt collar of his blade.

" Ulquiorra Schiffer, " I'm trying to tell him that I do not like to be addressed by numerical terms.

" Oh yes, thanks for the reminder though, Ulquiorra. I need to at least know your name before I actually cut you into pieces, "The Espada flicked his fringe and revealed a wider grin.

" I'm Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. Remember it well, "Grimmjow disappeared from where he stood and dashed towards me, followed by a soft click – he had pulled out his sword. I dodged to the back before catching sight of a black numerical brand at Grimmjow's back.

_Ah, Sexta Espada_. You do intend to take advantage of the fact Espadas ranked Cuarta and above are not allowed to release their Zanpakutou? _Don't_. Please be aware that we are already better than you even without drawing out our blades.

All I could hear was Grimmjow laughing very hysterically, as if he knew I was looking for the number that was branded on him. I had just wanted to make sure with my own eyes, that he was weaker (under Aizen-sama's standards); even after I had determined the strength of his reiatsu seconds ago.

_Grimmjow, I hate to admit this. _

_Stop wasting your time._

_It's meaningless._

" Oi, I may be the Sexta Espada, but do not underestimate me! "He yelled at my direction as he flung his sword at me. Using his own sword as a decoy, he fired a reddish Cero blast at me.

I caught it reflexively and placed it on the floor.  
The Cero blast? I dodged it _way before_ it approached. It blew up part of the white pillar, though. The force of the blast shook the area that the both of us were in; causing some of the rubble to crumble.

" Temeeee!!! "Grimmjow growled.

" _Futile_. "I turned around.  
As I began to head in the direction I had intended to earlier, I could hear Grimmjow's movement. He was quick and nimble with his Sonido, just not fast_ enough._ This time he leapt and headed towards me from an elevated angle. Grimmjow had his blade swung high, which quickly followed by another attempt to knock my head.

What happened next was a totally unintended move.  
I began to let out a sigh, _instinctively._  
This only meant that I was looking down on Grimmjow, which obviously had angered him, further.

He used both hands this time, to increase the impact of his attack.

As I locked my irises into Grimmjow's cerulean-colored eyes, I made a step forward. I studied his facial expressions as my right hand reached out for his neck; his eyes grew larger as I began to tighten the grip. Without much effort, I drove him back into the pillar he had damaged earlier. I glanced at the part I had my firm grip on, it looked awfully fragile.

" Tch! "Grimmjow wasn't happy that he was now stuck deeply inside a huge pillar, with another Espada staring at the side of his neck, resisting the psychotic urge to break it. He wasn't showing signs of giving up, as his legs were trying desperately to kick me away.

It was then I made a few discoveries about myself.  
Today's encounter with Grimmjow was my first Espada battle (Logically speaking, I did not initiate it; but I had shown some retaliation).  
If there's a particular body part that I would lay my first attack on, I would take the neck area down – somehow that part appealed to me most. When you control one's neck, he'll be usually too focused on freeing the tight grip than to do anything else.

" Ah, " I muttered. It was obvious who the victor was by now.

" What now? You finally realized the need to kill me? "Grimmjow was struggling to breathe out the words.

I walked a few steps and picked up his fallen Zanpakutou.

" You dropped this, " I shoved the blade into the pillar, passing through Grimmjow's hollow hole. Apparently I had used too much force and impaled the Espada – the blade pierced through the cemented pillar, causing cracks – the handle was the only part sticking out of Grimmjow's hollow hole.

" Chikushooo!! I won't forget today, Ulquiorra!! "Grimmjow hollered more profanities at me. He tried to yank the sword out the pillar with his right hand. It wasn't long before he started to grin again. The interactions with Grimmjow had made me see through what he was about to do next. I dodged a few steps back as I heard Grimmjow murmur...

" Grind, _Panthera_! "

Grimmjow had released his zanpakutou while it was still stuck midway between the pillar and him. Rash, but he had no other choice to get his sword out unscathed. He stroked the blade with his left fingers as the zanpakutou glowed in the same color Grimmjow's eyes were. The spiritual pressure around the atmosphere became denser as a result of Grimmjow's impulsive actions.

I was not afraid of the fact that Grimmjow is about to charge at me in his Resurrección form. Rather, I winced at the thought of seeing Aizen-sama returning some time later and catch this place in total mess. I had weighed both factors; and decided that angering the latter would result in a more serious consequence.

" Hurry, draw out your zanpakutou! "Grimmjow crouched and looked as if he was about to pounce on me anytime soon.

" I can't, " I replied.

" Oh, because Aizen said so? "

" It's Aizen-sama, " _I had made a similar mistake like that before. I thought I should at least correct him._

" Who cares? He's not even here, "Grimmjow snarled.

" I do not see a need to fight you, "

" It's not a need, Ulquiorra. It's a want. I _want_ to kill you. How should one react when he meets his own assassin? "

I'm not someone who is proficient with pretty words; nor am I a person who is able to argue myself out of a meaningless argument. Grimmjow was trying very hard to make me see the point of battling with him, which I refuse to compromise. He was witty enough to drive me to a dead end in this verbal confrontation; until I could reply with the words that he had intended for me to all along.

I sighed, again.

" You want me to fight back? "

" Yea, fight me like I were to incinerate your life away right now, " Grimmjow licked his fangs and flashed his grin again. His Resurrección form was that of a panther – his blue hair extends to his waist; and his Espada outfit converted into a white exoskeleton, which acted like a form of protection. His fingers and feet turn into sharp claws that looked like it could pry open any single matter it sees.

" Fine. On one condition, "

There was a way to appease this infuriated and determined panther._  
I'm not too certain that it will work perfectly, though._

" Name it, "

" If after 5 seconds you can still remain standing upright... "

" Okay, " Grimmjow agreed without much consideration. He began to crouch in a defensive manner, for he was unsure of what was lurking ahead.

I closed my eyes and made a wish.  
That Las Noches will be able to withstand with what I would be doing later._  
Please do not collapse._

_For a slight second, I felt just like someone I had met some time ago._

_That time, when she was trying so hard to prevent the room from crumbling._

As I opened my eyes slowly, a wide radius of green reiatsu surrounded me, before it filled the walkway.

The entire area begun to tremble violently; cracks started to form at the walls and pillars.  
Grimmjow laughed even louder this time.

" Are you sure this is your reiatsu?! It's so weak that my tears are flowing out! "

I forgot to tell him that it was _charging_.

As I was still unfamiliar with my own reiatsu, I was just trying to test out to see if it could work as an attack move this way.

" 5...4...!! "He began to chant out the countdown.

" 1. "The light green reiatsu that had engulfed the walkway turned into a myrtle tinge. It all happened too quickly; the reiatsu crept up stealthily and locked itself onto the intended target within milliseconds. The impact was enough to make Grimmjow fall to his knees, with his elbows pinned onto the floor.

There was nothing Grimmjow could do but to scream at his own loss.  
" Damn it... "The blue-haired panther gritted his fangs.

Grimmjow lost to the same opponent two times in a row. The most humiliating thing to him – despite my appearance which he had perceived earlier to be 'weak', I did not even suffer a single scratch. Before I was about to submit my report of the damages caused in this walkway, I brushed away the dust that had fallen onto my white cloak.

" I swear, Ulquiorra... "The worn-out panther spoke again.

I looked back at Grimmjow once more.

" I am going to get so much stronger..."

" I see, "  
By getting stronger, it also meant that he gets himself closer to achieving Aizen-sama's goals - _which is certainly encouraged_.

" Till then. "I turned around and proceeded with my personal orientation tour of Las Noches.

Grimmjow looked at me with his eyes filled with rancor.  
" Tch, I'm so going to kill you someday, " he muttered to himself.

_What arrogance_. He must have thought that I did not hear those words.

After walking quite a distance away from that walkway, I began to reflect my previous actions.  
I never knew which part had provoked the panther.  
We have only met once, and yet there was so much hatred in him.  
Which part of me, I wonder, irked him so much?

Perhaps, we just happen to stand on alternate frequency.  
Perhaps, we are just too different; that it becomes too impossible to complement one another.  
Perhaps, it is that one tiny similarity in us that we are both too stubborn, that we can never agree on one another.

I stopped walking all of a sudden.

_For the first time..._

" I'm lost, " I muttered out the words, in a rather _awkward_ manner.

* * *

**yu-pon's note:**

First things first, thank you so much for reading!**=3**

*clicks submit button* finally done after a week! -- actually i was writing two chapters at a go =)) --  
but that chapter, won't appear until i complete the next one, unfortunately (it's Chapter...7?)

Ulquiorra-kun is lost!! (too deep in his own thoughts that's why heehee)  
I had initally intended to describe that he was embarrassed after realising he was lost. However, i remembered that Ulquiorra does not know anything about feelings -- that's why he called that feeling _awkward._ *smiles*  
What will he do? Who will he encounter next? The answer should be quite obvious ya? XDD

This particular chapter had some Japanese words (mainly used by anime characters when they curse -- i guess you'll hear hotheaded characters saying those words a lot); if you do not understand them, let me know! I'll try to explain them in the next chapter haha.

It's 3 am now. *laughs*  
Till the next chapter,  
ほなおつー！！


	6. 六 Wake up, Sleepyhead!

**White Hibiscus~****ホワイト・ハイビスカス**

**「六」 ****Wake up, Sleepyhead!**

_Even if...we are not what it should have seemed to be, it does not matter to me at all._

_I just _need to hear your voice waking me up every time I fall asleep deliberately.  
All I want to see is that when I open this pair of eyes, the first person I'll catch smiling would be _you._  
That, you're still breathing and alive.  
That, I'm not alone in this world.

_Not yet._

" Mouuu~~~ Not again!!!! " The child whined as she bent over with her arms akimbo.

She was staring at the man lying on top on a pile of cushions, with his hand shielding his eyes from the bright lightings in the room. He pretty much looked like as if he had not slept for 3 days straight – he was completely motionless.

" Take this!! " the child gave the man a punch on his face and stared again.

This time, the man budged a little, which prompted her to conjure up another method to wake this man up. She jumped into the air and did a small somersault, before giving the man a head butt. The child's head had a skull helmet with a red fiery symbol at the left eye – without doubt, the impact of the head butt had to be unimaginably painful.

" Oww... " the man moaned as he rolled to the side and continued sleeping.

" I'm going to squeeze your uvula, and you know you hate that... " The child placed out her trump card.

The man finally gave in and placed his arm down, in a dreadful manner.

" Lilinette? " his dry throat made him croaked out.

" Stop pretending like you did not hear what I just said! " Lilinette sat on top of the man's stomach.

" Okay, I'm awake, Lilinette, " The man yawned lazily.

" No you are not! Your eyes are still closed!!! " Lilinette used her fingers to pry open the man's eyelids.

The man jumped and sat up almost immediately.  
Lilinette got off where she was sitting on and smiled.

" Hello, Stark! "

" Hello, Lilinette. I've greeted you nice and sweet. Does that mean I can go back and … "

" No. "

" Why not? " Stark whined.

" I have something to tell you, Stark, " Lilinette's tone became lower.  
She walked closer to Stark and whispered.

" There's someone out there lurking in the darkness."

Stark let out a sigh and placed his hands on Lilinette's shoulder.

" I know, "

" The problem is, he's been standing there for an hour. Don't you think we need to send him away or at least do something? "

" Oh. " Stark seemed to have realized something.

" What now? "

" That 'someone' you said is now 10 steps away from our doorstep. Go welcome him, Lilinette, "

" You jolly well know I'm definitely not his match! " Lilinette protested.

" Nah, he's one of us. Now be a nice girl, go open that door and welcome him in, " Stark fanned Lilinette's cheek, telling her to calm down.

" How do you even know without... "

" Trust me. I'm _never_ wrong with such things, " Stark gave a weary smile at Lilinette.

As Lilinette headed towards the door, she heard Stark jumping for joy.

" Now that she's gone, I can … "

Lilinette faced Stark and hurled her boot far; and it slapped Stark's forehead hard.

" Don't. " Lilinette warned Stark with her skinny forefinger.

Lilinette had actually wanted to say something else._  
Don't leave me alone with another stranger, Stark_.

She took a deep breath and opened the door.

- *** -

By the time I realized where my legs were taking me to, I guess the sole thing left available for me to do was to...stop walking.

_Am I still within Las Noches?_

The surroundings were highly unfamiliar; the sand dunes were of a greater height and pattern. The clouds were linear and were mostly of a lighter grey shade. As I walked up the hill, I caught sight of a long and winding stone path in between the thick hedges. It could only mean one thing – that a residence is nearby.

It was then I saw a white cottage with a dark brown roof. My first instinct was walk closer to the door and ask for a way to get back to where I had started off. As I was about fifteen steps away from the wooden door, it opened.

A girl with hazy gray-green hair walked out from the cottage and gave me a hesitant look.  
" Welcome, Arrancar-san. Is there anything I can do for you? " She was trembling and her left arm was placed on her zanpakutou – as if she was about to attack me anytime soon.

I shook my head slightly and looked into her eyes.  
" Ulquiorra Schiffer, "

" Well, if you do not mind... Stark said you can come in and take a seat, " The girl now placed her left arm away and signaled me to enter the house.

Just before I was about to enter the house, the girl pointed to herself.  
" Lilinette, "

Lilinette then halted my movement with her right palm,  
" You forgot to say ' O-jya-ma-shi-ma-su ( Please excuse me for intruding upon you )', Ulquiorra-san, "

"Ojyamashimasu. "  
I knew if I do not say this, I will never find my way back.

Lilinette was a complete different person when she was with Stark, the other Arrancar in the house. She seemed more, _agitated _whenever her eyes met him.  
He was sitting on the pile of cushions with his right hand raised high.

" Question, Question ! " He spoke in a childish manner.  
I had realized that the question was directed at me.

" What is a Cuarta Espada doing here? " The tone of the Arrancar's voice changed to that of a defensive one.

This Arrancar must not be underestimated. He had brown, shoulder length hair with the ends uncombed. The remnants of his Hollow hole took the shape of a lower jaw that was hanging around his neck like a huge accessory.

Not only he had a strong level of reiatsu, he could tell I was the Cuarta Espada even when I hid my Hollow hole and that numerical mark on my skin – he was able to estimate my abilities accurately without much effort.

My eyes were still fixed onto the Arrancar,  
" I want to know how to get back to Las Noches, "

There was a moment of awkward silence as Lilinette and Stark exchanged glances.

Lilinette burst out into roaring laughter and kept slapping the wall with both arms.  
" You mean, you are lost!? "

She had tears welling up at the ends as she continued to laugh harder.

Stark smiled and remarked,  
" We are still within the building. Relax, you've not wandered into another dimension or something, "

I turned to look at Lilinette as she placed a bowl of biscuits and three glasses of milk on the squarish dining table.

" Have something, " Lilinette looked down onto the floor again, _as if she was hiding something._

" Ah, Lilinette's just not used to meeting strangers, " Stark was right beside me way before I had seen him move. He chuckled and gave me a pat on the right shoulder as he headed towards the dining table.

" Stark!! Stop doing that teleportation trick!! " Lilinette pinched Stark in the arm.

" Ouch!! Lilinette, how many times must I tell you... " Stark shook his head.

" It's not teleportation. That's Sonido, " I finished the sentence.  
This man is definitely an Espada. Although Arrancars do know how to use Sonido, yet to be able to master it until one does not even pick up your presence while you travel from one point to another – that is only something a very high level Espada can perform. If I'm Cuarta, and there's no Tercera right now, this man is either Segunda or...

_Primera_.

Stark smiled and nodded.

" That's right, you call that Sonido, Lilinette, "

" I forgot to introduce. I'm Stark, " Stark leaned his back on the wooden chair and threw a biscuit into his mouth. He paused as he studied my reactions.

_I've not heard of this name, yet._

" Before you start to rack your brains to figure out what I am... " Stark removed one of his gloves and revealed the answer written on his back of his left arm.

Stark is the Primera Espada.

" Ulquiorra Schiffer, Cuarta Espada, " I thought I should introduce myself to Stark as well.

_He certainly did not look like an Espada, let alone the Primera._  
This realization led me to conclude that Espadas with ranks Cuarta and above have a similar trait.  
We deceive our opponents with our appearances; we trick them into thinking that we are not as strong we seem to be.

" Come, sit with us, " Stark invited me to sit beside him.

Lilinette grabbed that chair and sat beside Stark.  
She pouted " I have been sitting on this chair for a very long time!! Ulquiorra-san is not allowed to sit here! "

" But... " Stark sighed. "Ulquiorra's our guest," he continued.

" I'll just... stand here, "I made some attempts to give in to the child Arrancar.  
It did not matter to me if the hosts were treating me badly or not. I was just here for _directions._

" Ulquiorra, follow me upstairs, " Stark finished his biscuits and stood up.

" Stark? " Lilinette's eyes followed Stark as he led me up the stairway.

" I'm coming along!! " She shouted and ran up the stairs.

I followed Stark, not knowing where he intends to take me to. Stark then opened a door at the ceiling and climbed up a ladder that was affixed to the wall – it led us to the rooftop. He locked the door before Lilinette rushed up, leaving her banging hardly at the door. She was screaming madly at Stark and there was a glimpse of melancholy in his eyes. Stark bent down and focused at the side of the door.

" Lilinette, I'll make it up to you. I have something to tell him, " Stark whispered through the tiny gap.

The banging stopped.

Stark walked to the middle part of the roof and lay down.  
" Try doing this too, " Stark suggested me to mimic what he had just done.

As my back felt the cold clay roof tiles, I looked at what was laid in front of my eyes – the dark sky streaked with gray clouds.

" I like Hueco Mundo, when it's quiet, " Stark talked again.  
Quiet would mean the lack of swords clashing, souls moaning and groaning in pain, hysterical and psychotic laughter. I do not hate that feeling too.

Yet, I did not know the exact words to convey how much I had agreed with Stark.

" I see, " I could only offer him this reply.

" The skies in Las Noches may be light blue, but over at this side, it's dark, " Stark spoke again. His voice somehow fitted the way the clouds moved in my vision of the sky.

" Why? " I was curious with his statement.

" Because if it's dark, it's like telling you to go to sleep. And when you sleep, everything becomes quiet again, "

" Sleep? "

I've not heard of this word at all. It was like a complete new word for me.

" You close your eyes and then gradually, you see nothing but darkness. The world that surrounds you changes. It becomes quiet and peaceful. Things that you don't usually attain in Hueco Mundo. However, sleeping is fearful, " Stark tried his best to explain the meaning of the word to me.

" Fearful? "

" You'll never know what lies ahead when you wake up. You do not even know if you will _ever_ wake up from that darkness, "

" Yet you still do it? "

Stark smiled at me.  
" It's worth doing it, that's why, "

_Sleeping just sounded like it was a very difficult thing to grasp._

" Lilinette... Aizen-sama sent you here to take her away right? "

I turned my eyes away from the mesmerizing endless dark sky and looked at Stark as he breathed out her name. Stark's eyes were fixed on the sky.

" I am aware that Lilinette may be too weak to be a Primera Espada's Fracción, but.. "

" But... ? "

" She reminds me that I actually exist in someone's memory..._That's right, Lilinette reminds me that I'm not alone._"

Stark was still gazing at the clouds, as if he had remembered the past he shared with Lilinette.

" That story about you getting lost, is just a lie right? Actually you were sent here by..."

" No, " That statement was not true.

" So you really got lost? " Stark's eyes grew slightly larger and had a puzzled look on his face. He stood up and crossed his arms.

" Which means, you are not sent here by Aizen-sama? "

" No, " I shook my head.

" Oh, my... " Stark looked as if he had made the greatest blunder of his life. He slapped his forehead with his right palm as he let out a sigh.

As I recalled how Stark introduced himself as the Primera Espada, I thought he removed his glove deliberately so as to prove to me that I was of no match to him. The conversation we just had on the rooftop - I wondered if he had tricked me into lying down in that position so that it would be easier for him to take my life; should I be deemed as an enemy in his standards. It was clear and outright that he would protect Lilinette if I were to take her away from him; even if it means defying Aizen-sama. Even without me assessing his abilities, Stark surpasses me in every single aspect.

" I must have slept so much that my head got _rusty_. This is not good, " Stark muttered to himself as he walked across the roof and unlocked the door. Lilinette rushed up and reprimanded Stark for isolating her. As her eyes met mine, she began to reach for her Zanpakutou again.

" He's not here for _that_, either, " Stark whispered into her ear.

" If you want to head back to where the skies are brighter, you have to head towards the northwest direction. There will be a doorway. Open it, it's the shorter way back, " Stark squeezed his forehead slightly as he pointed his finger across the sand dunes.

" Thank you, Stark, "

I jumped off from the rooftop and walked in the direction I was told.

- *** -

" Stark? " Lilinette looked up at the man who was trailing the silhouette of the Cuarta Espada as he left the residence.

" Cuarta Espada, eh. So he's the Espada Aizen-sama particularly favored, "

" Oh? Who cares, " Lilinette rolled her eyes.

" That's true, who cares about that when I have you right now? " Stark looked at Lilinette's skull helmet and grinned.

Lilinette's eyes widened. Stark hardly says stuff like that.

" Ne ne Stark, tell me!! Is there something wrong? Did Ulquiorra-san say something nasty? " Lilinette shook Stark hardly.

" Of course not. I'm completely sober, "

That is also something Stark rarely would say.

Lilinette blushed and remembered something that Stark had promised earlier.  
" You... you said that you were going to make it up, didn't you? "

" I did, " Stark nodded and gave a kiss on Lilinette's helmet.

" Stark... " Lilinette lowered her head slightly.

Stark held Lilinette's hand.  
" Let's go back, shall we? "

The green hair child raised her head, her eyes slightly wet.  
The man gazed at her with very gentle yet weary eyes; but she liked it that way.  
She held that hand tightly, and gave the Espada a wide grin.

_The last thing that I want to hear from her is not "Good luck, Stark" or "Take care, Stark" .  
I would rather if she screamed at me in the ear.  
"Wake up! You sleepyhead! " followed by a punch in my face._

_It hurts, but at least you know you are not dreaming at all._

_

* * *

_**yu-pon's note:**

Thank you for reading this chapter!! Whew - it's 4 am right now (seems like inspiration only knocks when it's THIS early. = =' )  
I wrote this chapter in a different fashion - I started off with a glimpse of their lives (I took it from the manga/anime) - followed by Ulquiorra's - and then back to them. Hope that it wasn't too confusing to read!! Apologies because Ulquiorra's not exactly the main this time..!!

Actually now that it's already Chapter 6, I should do a proper writeup for the synopsis, hee.

I have to say this though, I'm not good with Stark/Lilinette, haha.  
I wasn't exactly sure of what their relationship was, but I thought it would be cool if I gave them a vague one. It might turn out sweeter that way.

Aha, I did mention somewhere that I actually wrote Chapter 7 first? Now that 6 becomes somewhat similar to 7, I'll have to tweak the story a bit!  
The outline was long done - it'll feature one more character. who will that be? XDD  
After that, Chapter 8 should be something else already; ho ho ho.

Translations! In the previous chapter, Chikushou meant as a curse word. Well, Grimmjow and Ichigo lovesss to use that word. It's like a "Argh, damn it!" kind of word. Temeeee would be like " You... " but in a cruder manner, closer to "You jerk..". This time i had a Ojyamashimasu, it's used when one's entering another person's house; like a "sorry for disturbing you" kind of remark.

Last but not least, thank you for the reviews 333  
Glad to see people liking the previous chapters!  
I'll work harder for Chapter 7!  
Till the next chapter,  
ほなおつー


	7. 七 The Secret Garden

**White Hibiscus~****ホワイト・ハイビスカス~**

**「七」 ****The Secret Garden**

_I will only believe in things that can be captured by my irises.  
Anything else that cannot be seen, are not real.  
Even if I can feel the texture of it, if my eyes are not able to see it, the existence of it will not be determined by me._

_Yet, when I shut off my irises and welcome the darkness that Stark talked about,  
I still see memories of events that happened in the past.  
What is this that my eyes are looking at?  
What do you call this? Are they real?_

Sometimes, I find this uncertain part of me, very troubling.

I do not remember how much time has passed since Aizen-sama had returned – something major must have occurred in Soul Society; and he has to be personally there to monitor the situation. Some of the Espadas were getting impatient about the fact that there were no huge impending battles; while some were hoping that things would stay the way it is right now. I seem to prefer the latter, but I will gladly join the battlefield if Aizen-sama passes the decree.

During my free time, I made sure Las Noches was in tip-top condition. As there was no one else who was willing to help out with such mundane chores, I had to do everything on my own.

_Aizen-sama's orders are final. _

_No matter how much I abhor it, I have to complete it._

Today, I am supposed to clean up the meeting room that was left unused for ages. How long has it been since the Espadas last gathered here for their meeting? How long has it been since I last saw Aizen-sama's face? The place where Aizen-sama often sat on had a thick layer of sand particles – I swept them to the floor with my left hand. I realised that I am not cut out to do menial tasks like this, for my zanpakutou seemed to be getting in the way every time I bend over to tidy up narrow areas like this.

" Done, " It was time to lock up the meeting room and head to other places of Las Noches to see if everything was running in order. Just as I was locking up the huge steel door, I heard a voice from behind.

" Ohisashiburi da naa (It's been a long time eh), Ulquiorra-kun, " the speaker sounded amused at what I had just done.

There was no sight of Aizen-sama. It's just Ichimaru-sama.

I wonder if it was due to the long absence of not looking at his facial features, but it seemed to me that his grin had _grown wider this time._

" Ichimaru...sama, " I hesitated.  
Why did he come back to Hueco Mundo on his own?

" Oh no, please do not call me that, it gives me the creeps. Ichimaru-san will do, " The silver haired man smiled again.

" Aizen-sama, " I unknowingly mentioned his name.

" Ah~ you missed him, didn't you? Things have escalated faster than we have ever imagined over at Seireitei. He has to stay in the archives with Kaname-kun to read up on the Hougyoku. They are better at passing off as the than I am. Oh, and I'm going to be casted as murderer soon, exciting, isn't it?" Ichimaru-san chuckled.

" Read up? " I asked Ichimaru-san.

" You see, I have very poor eyesight. My eyes are too tiny to search for the essential words... So Aizen sent me back here instead,"

" But. Tousen-sama cannot see, "

" Good question, Ulquiorra-kun. There's a lot of _other_ things he can see though, Ulquiorra-kun. He can sense danger better than anyone else, " Ichimaru-san pointed out.

The wide grin on Ichimaru-san's face turned into a pout.  
" Ah~~ I'm so useless, am I not? Ulquiorra-kun, " He ruffled his own hair.

Ichimaru Gin was a name he thought of during his younger days. Persimmons were his favourite; especially round and sweet ones – so he combined the two words together and formed his surname. Gin was just the color of his hair – silver. Espadas gave him a lot of names that he probably knew of - one of them included " the strange man who wears a permanent smiling mask".

_A strange man indeed._  
Ichimaru-san bewilders you as you keep your eyes fixed on this mask; then you end up being unsure where to focus your eyes on for his irises are concealed. As a result, you are not certain what he's thinking of at that moment. You find it even harder to anticipate what he wants to do next. This strange man loved the description "as cunning as a fox" most; for that is exactly what he is.

In Hueco Mundo, he even designed certain stairways that transported the user to random rooms each time he lands his feet on the first step – which gave every single Espada a hard time navigating their way out whenever they get lost. In fact, most of the booby traps found in Las Noches are all part of his personal invention.

" Are you free right now, Ulquiorra-kun? " Ichimaru-san tilted his head to the side. He always spoke in a light voice, yet the words that came out of his mouth often had sarcasm concealed within it.

" Yes, I am. Ichimaru-san, " I replied.  
_What does he want to do with me, I wonder._

" I have something to show you, " He turned his back and walked down the stairway.

The two of us travelled deep into Las Noches, using countless of his gadgets that took us from one end to another, before reaching a door.

" This, is where... " Ichimaru-san waited for me to guess.

" This is where Ichimaru-san stays? "

" Pin pon~ Correct answer. Well done, Ulquiorra-kun, " Ichimaru-san clapped his hands and reached out for the door handle. As he pushed down the handle, the door opened itself to a scenery.

_This place, looked more like a garden to me._

There were yellow flowers surrounding the entire place; and persimmon trees grew in a orderly manner. The skies over at Ichimaru-san's house were of a very light blue with white clouds. This place, looked too different from what I usually see in Hueco Mundo. There were so many colors that looked so foreign from the usual monochromes I see.

" Ah, this flower ne, is called a Marigold, " Ichimaru squatted down and signaled me over to look at the flora.

" It's yellow, " I commented.

" That's right. I wanted orange ones though. I like the color orange a lot. But... " Ichimaru-san frowned a little.

" Un, I must not be unfair. Persimmons are already orange in color. So the marigolds can be yellow. Yellow is my second favourite color, "

" Why? " I had wanted to know why Ichimaru-san preferred brighter colors.

" They represented things that were close to me. If I had a choice, I would rather they were all silver, and not yellow or orange, " Ichimaru-san looked at the marigold with an expression I found it hard to describe – he touched the petals and had a painful expression to it.

" Back in Seireitei, I have a yellow-furred puppy and a ginger-colored cat yo. I find it hard to part with them, if I had to leave Seireitei permanently, "

" You have to leave the place? " Seemed like Aizen-sama's plans have taken a drastic change. The three captains were supposed to stay at Seireitei while they carry out their plans in secret. If the captains have to leave Seireitei, someone must have found out. Aizen-sama has always been discreet about it, nothing should have gone wrong. If that is so,_ then what exactly happened at Soul Society?_

" Ssh. Don't tell anyone about this okay? It's supposed to be confidential, " Ichimaru-san placed his long finger to his grin, which had revealed his teeth at the end of his lip. He stood up and walked a few steps in front.

Ichimaru-san raised his head a little and whispered something.

I read his lips which said something like, " I wonder why... "

He turned around and pointed his finger at me.  
" Perhaps, I see a bit of that cat in you. Your eyes do remind me of how we first met, "  
He began to giggle, as if he remembered something very amusing that had happened between the cat and him. His expressions quickly changed; just like when he was looking at the marigolds.

_Ichimaru-san's cat, I wondered how it actually looked like._  
If it were to share the same eyes that I have, it must have been a very hideous and listless cat.

" Actually, Aizen-sama gave you a mission. That's why I'm here today, "

His mention of 'Aizen-sama' caught my attention.

_A mission. _

The silver-haired man crossed his arms and nodded his head.  
He went inside his house and dragged out a life sized body suit.  
" You are supposed to put on this suit and head out for the following locations listed here, " Ichimaru-san pulled out a note from his pocket.

" Oh I made this suit. Don't you think it looks a lot like you? People in those places wear like this. It's supposed to conceal your reiatsu from the shinigamis that reside in these areas. They will think that you are one of them anyway, "

I lifted the rubbery suit and studied its appearance.

It looked exactly like me except for his outfit – it had more colors than my white cloak.

" What is the mission? "

" You sure are eager naaa, Ulquiorra-kun, " He teased again.

" Of these locations, you are supposed to find the place with the highest intensity of spiritual energy. It's such an easy mission, isn't it?"

" I have something to submit to Aizen-sama, before I go, "  
That report that he wanted of the Espadas.

" Oh, that one. I'll pass him the message. "  
Ichimaru-san gave me a OK sign with his thumb.  
I took out my eyeball and crushed it before I poured the dust into a glass jar.  
This was the way I had recorded my observations ; and the dust will playback whatever that I had wanted it to record.

I scanned the list of places I was ordered to go.  
_None of them seemed like they were located in Hueco Mundo._

" Ah, Ulquiorra-kun, " Ichimaru-san let out a gentle sigh and leaned his back against the wall of his house.

" It's not at Hueco Mundo. The places are on Earth, " the grin just widened again.

_Earth._  
This world that I'm about to head to, what expectations should I have of it?  
What would my eyes show me?

The wavering uncertainty in me just got more intense again.

* * *

**yu-pon's note:**

Thank you for reading!  
I think most of you must be thinking " Wow this author updated again!? "  
Fast isn't it? Well, that's because I wrote this chapter when I was submitting 5~  
(Just that it was supposed to be Ichimaru Gin and Matsumoto Rangiku; I altered it because Ulquiorra is the main character!!)  
I can always write a Ichimaru Gin x Matsumoto Rangiku fanfic when this fic is over ya~~ *smiles*  
I'm sure you guys know who the puppy and the cat Gin was talking about right?=))

Oh regarding the fact about Ichimaru Gin's name (thought I should at least explain this)  
Persimmons are kaki (柿）in Japanese. Round means marui/maru 丸 in Kanji.  
So Ichi comes from the 'persimmon' word + the shape of the persimmons (round) = Ichimaru (市丸)  
- _i kinda made this fact up myself hahaha -_

Chapter 7 marks the end of the events in Hueco Mundo, temporarily.  
Maa~ Ulquiorra will go back home soon~!!

Chapter 8's still a blank document, so I have no idea what I will be writing about.  
If you have ideas, you can send them to me! (haha)  
Hope that you guys will still continue to stay tuned!

Till Chapter 8,  
ほなおつー


	8. 八 Of Water and Snow

**White Hibiscus~****ホワイト・ハイビスカス**

**「八」 ****Of Water and Snow**

_Do you still remember?  
That time when you had shorter hair; laughed very loudly; and spoke of meaningless things.  
I don't think you do, for I had erased that bit of memory in you.  
But you never did change a bit – you asked me the same questions; you had the same replies.  
Just like how we had first met._

" Okay, you put on this suit like this, " Ichimaru-san was teaching me the how-tos of this weird invention, with the likes of wearing another layer of skin – with the exception that the skin color is now, pale beige.

" Ichimaru-san... "

" Hmm? "Ichimaru-san's eyebrow arched a little.

" What is this? "I lifted the weird suit's right hand.

" It's a Gigai, " Ichimaru-san's smile widened.

" And? "I realized that Ichimaru-san's smile had different meanings. If his smile were to arch further after a particular sentence, it meant that he had shortened his intended sentence. I did not like the feeling of hiding; I wanted to know what Ichimaru-san wanted to say.

" And... I took this from the 12th Division. Loaned to Ichimaru Gin on a permanent basis, "Ichimaru-san stuck out his tongue.

I let out a sigh – this bad habit of mine had rooted itself so deep inside me that I found it hard to quit it now.

Ichimaru-san studied my reactions with a puzzled look.

" What is wrong, Ulquiorra-kun? "

" Nothing, "

Stealing something from the Shinigamis to complete an Arrancar mission, it sure sounded funny enough.

" Oh, and you need this too, " Ichimaru-san handed me a packet of colored balls.

" Put this in your mouth and swallow it if you need to detach yourself from your Gigai, "

" Hai, "

Ichimaru-san frowned.

" Ano... There's another problem, "

I looked at that smiling mask one more time as I put on the remaining part of the suit.

The Gigai expanded and stretched, filling up every part of my skin. I did not have to move an inch – the Gigai found its way through; and covered every single pore flawlessly. It was like the suit fitted perfectly to my measurements; and it wasn't too bothered about concealing my sword either – even though my sword shook with discomfort and much annoyance when the Gigai came pouring over the handle.

" We haven't exactly tested with Arrancars to see if Gigais function the same way as they do with Shinigamis, " He shrugged.

That was when Ichimaru-san finally glanced at what was happening to me.  
I am now an Arrancar residing within a Gigai meant for Shinigamis.

I felt like I was being fooled around by this smiling fox.

" Oh, " was all Ichimaru Gin said upon realizing that I have completed donning the human suit.

He just has to leave the most crucial sentence _at the last._

" Maa~ I'm sure everything will turn out okay! "He made attempts to assure that things were going as planned.

The silvery haired tall man then stepped forward and made an opening with a slight movement using his hand.

" This is a Garganta. You can use this to travel to and from both worlds. It would be best if you come back only when you completed your mission, _as quoted from your beloved Aizen-sama_, "With that, Ichimaru-san placed both of his hands on my shoulder and pushed me towards the dark hole.

As I walked into the Garganta, I thought of questions.

The strange man disrupted my thoughts for a while.  
" Have fun, Ulquiorra-kun. Bye bye~ "Ichimaru-san waved as the Garganta hole closed up.

Inside the Garganta, I had cautioned myself that should I lose my way, I should restart all over again with Hueco Mundo as the starting point. However, there's a possibility that I could ask for directions, if the creatures on Earth are able to understand what I'm talking about. The Garganta opened up all of a sudden, and I found myself falling from a height – I should have adjusted the alignment of the hole such that I will end up walking out, not dropping out of it.

It was about 5 seconds before I hit the ground with a muffled bump.  
White, cold particles that turned into water the instance my hand came into contact with them.  
What are these strange things called?

" Ah! "A small lady voiced out.

I looked at her large and round mercury-colored pupils that were expressing elements of surprise.

" Santa-san! "She exclaimed excitedly and stood up. This lady was a very tiny one; she was no taller than the plastic horse-on-a-metal-spring-statue that sat beside her. She began to run towards my direction. I could not detect that she was a threat, so I allowed her to brush off the white powder on my hair.

" Are you okay? It must have been painful to fall off from your sleigh, "She squatted down, and continued to pat my head with her thick black gloves. I was feeling a little less troubled that she was speaking in a language that I could converse in.

I continued to study her movements – she was concerned about the white powder that was all around me for some reason – for an instance, I had wondered if they were toxic.

" I'm okay, " I replied.

" Uwaa! I'm talking to Santa! "She covered her mouth, which made her eyes bigger than they had been.

" I'm not Santa, " I shrugged. _Who on earth was this Santa guy anyway?_

" Then what's your name? "She pointed her petite finger and demanded a self-introduction.

" Ul... "Somehow the name could not come out as freely as I had wanted it to. It was very much unlike Hueco Mundo where I went around revealing my name to the Espadas. Ichimaru-san did not want me to say out this name to the creatures here, I suppose.

" Hmm? You don't have a name? "She went closer and looked into my eyes.

_That's right, what came next was that.  
That question that came out from those pink lips of yours.  
It was this question that sent a chill down my back. Although I had no idea what that meant,  
But the atmosphere grew colder at that moment._

" Ne ne, why are you crying? "The tiny lady asked a very peculiar question. She took off her black glove and reached her freezing fingers at my eye. I could not move away; I felt like I've been frozen to the ground.

" Because you don't have a name? Its okay, "She looked to the white floor and smiled.

" I'll give you one! "She beamed at my eyes.

" Hmm... I found you on a bed of snow, and you look like you are crying, "

_So the white particles are called snow..._

" Mizore! A combination of snow and water, Mizore! "

Mizore sounded like a girl's name, yet somehow the syllables rang loudly in my ear. It felt like I was getting accustomed to this weird word. The Gigai's ears trembled every time it heard her frequency pronouncing the name.

" Mi..zo...re? "Strangely enough, I could breathe out the words effortlessly.

" Un! Un! You may be a guy, but! "The tiny girl slapped both hands gently on my cheeks.

" You look pretty for a guy! "She laughed out in a high pitched tone.

Somehow, I felt heavier wearing this Gigai suit; it was much difficult to stand up than I could back in the monochrome world. The tiny lady helped me up with her small palms and asked me another puzzling question.

" Mizore-nii chan, where do you come from? "

I could tell her the place I came from, but I doubted if she will ever understand. Besides, I think Ichimaru-san silenced a part of my vocabulary bank to prevent me from divulging too much. As I was not able to provide an answer to her question, I decided to let her know where I intend to head to.

" I want to go to this place, " I showed her what Ichimaru-san wrote on the piece of paper.

" This place? Sora-nii chan said we are moving to this place tomorrow! I'm going to elementary school there! "The petite build girl raised her left hand; that had barely reached my waist.

" You have to take the train! "She voiced out another foreign word.

" Train? "

" That's right, it's at the end of this place, " The small built lady pointed far – the trains were located after the long row of houses.

I kept the white paper under the jacket and faced towards the direction that the lady had identified. As I was about to step forward, she tugged my white jacket.

" I will see you again right, Mizore nii-chan? "She gave me a very sad look.

" Perhaps, " I replied her coldly.

" Really? That's good, "She smiled a little before she put on her glove again. Her eyes were still sad and looked like they were shifting, as if she _too_, was confused why she was feeling in this manner. She was probably too young to understand why.

" I don't like to say goodbye. So, "I observed her as she brushed off the snow on her fragile knees.

" See you soon, Mizore nii-chan!! "She waved her hand in the air with a drop of water at the end of right eye. She ran in the other direction. I watched as her head diminished in size with every dainty step she took off.

_See you soon, Orange-haired lady._

Unknowingly, I placed my right hand into the pocket of the white jacket. Little did I know it was the last part of me the little lady had touched before she left me; and that it developed into another bad habit of mine.

* * *

**yu-pon's note:**

Yay another entry! I made it short because 7 and 8 are like transition chapters from Hueco Mundo to Earth.  
Finally it's Friday! Well I thought of this when I was daydreaming this morning, so tadaa~!  
Whew I can take my weekends off~ tra la la la la~  
No prezzies on who this girl is. (No, she's **not** an original character heehee.)

Translation notes - nii-chan means "elder brother".  
Usually, kids or very cute characters call their elder brother/seniors in this manner.

I haven't looked into my inbox but I think I saw reviews! Thank you!!!

*cryptic message*  
I might have disappointed some that this fic is turning into a U x O story..  
or I might have made more people curious/excited..  
well... if you had taken some time to decipher why I had called this fic " White Hibiscus ", you might have known oops.  
it's just that this fic won't be entirely on that.. because.. I've never meant it to be in the first place.  
She's an important character though.

woohoo! that's about it!  
we shall meet again in the next chapter okay!

Till Chapter 9,  
ほなおつー


	9. 九 Mizore: Complicated Characters

**White Hibiscus~****ホワイト・ハイビスカス**

**「九」 ****Mizore – Complicated Creatures**

I knew, that world where I was from,  
That world filled with despair, killings, deaths and blood spills - made up what I see every day. I was taught by that world, those things were highly normal; and had been almost absolute that I had grasped the way Hueco Mundo operated. If a soul gets defeated and falls over in front of me in a pool of blood, I should just take observations of the strengths of the victor and analyze his possible weaknesses. If a hollow turns violent and attack me, I can choose to eliminate it or push it away.

Living in Hueco Mundo was _effortlessly straightforward_ – you often do not have to make many choices to complete your actions. Each choice you make will determine one outcome. There are no multiple endings.

If I had to walk or run or get to another place, all I had to do was to use Sonido and I will reach my desired destination in no time. If I wanted something and have no idea how to get it, Las Noches has Arrancars to help out with the problem. If I do not wish to consult the Arrancars, somehow things will figure out by themselves.

That was my world.

This had led me to conclude that, the world that I'm in now; is not normal at all.  
These creatures lived in a world that was extremely strange, peculiar and quirky.  
They preferred to live their lives in a totally complex manner; where things could have been very simple.

_What an insane place to live in._

As I treaded on the charcoal gray colored pebble path, I made tiny observations on the scribbling that were written on the surface in an orderly manner. This path was halved by a long white line in the middle. Arrows pointed upwards on the side I was moving; the arrows on the other side, however, were pointing downwards. After the arrow, there'll be words like " Slow Down " or " Stop ", followed by a thick solid white line. There were boards along the beige concrete which had images of a larger black figure holding the hand of a smaller black figure; or a sign that had a hat-shaped shadow on it – I noticed the pattern of a random appearance of a yellow-and-black hump after the sign. There were also times where the path had arrows turning right and left at the same time.

These puzzling instructions that lay across the area had me baffled; they had no meaning to it.

If someone wants to go straight, all they have to do is to walk in that direction.  
Why is there the need to draw an arrow? Why is there a necessity to tell people to slow down?

_Why would these creatures rely on all these weird signs to get to a destination?  
Won't they get more confused looking at these instructions?_

I recalled what the tiny lady told me earlier._ The train station is located at the end of the houses!_  
Speaking of which, I had actually believed her words; even though we had only met once - I guess that situation left me with no other choice left but to trust her words.

I had no idea how a train looked, sounded or felt like – if there was anything that looked different from the houses, it should be that train station that lady had been telling me all along.

The path's gradient picked up slowly and my body felt heavier as I walked. The air that I exhaled out had a fleeting white ball of smoke which disappeared almost as soon as it appeared. At the same time, I observed my skin's reaction to the temperature drop in the atmosphere – as if something bit onto the surface, it felt stinging and the cold feeling would linger. Somehow, this Gigai shook on itself slightly every time the wind blew past – it hated cold weather, I suppose.

After much walking, I heard a sound.  
It was the sound of bells ringing. There were red lights spinning at the center of this yellow-and-black striped pole. I stood there and studied the surrounding creatures, which happened to be waiting for something to occur. As I made a step forward, a frail lady with a hunchback croaked "It's dangerous, wait here." - Why was I not allowed to cross at all? I watched as the bells kept ringing as the yellow-and-black pole dropped. Almost instantaneously, I had a strange feeling – something huge was coming from my side; and it was very fast.

_Am I able to stop this impending threat with my Cero?_

I raised my left hand and tried to fire a beam at the huge dark object; but to no avail - I was locked inside a Gigai. Right now, I'm as weak and incapable; just like these creatures.

The surrounding creatures had no reactions of fear; as if they already knew what would be coming. Some of the smaller-built Lilinette-like creatures were even jumping with exhilaration – their eyes were sparkling with delight, like they were waiting for its arrival for a long time. Just as I was still feeling restless about not being able to do anything, I thought of escape routes – if these creatures were to stand here and do nothing about it; I should at least protect this Gigai that Ichimaru-san loaned to me...

_But it was too late._

I closed my eyes, and made a silent apology to Ichimaru-san; even if the news that the Gigai might return to Hueco Mundo deformed might anger him a great deal, I will accept whatever punishment he gives. It was my fault for not detecting this piece of danger quick enough.

I was about to pop in the green-colored pill into my mouth so that I could fully launch a Cero attack on the object ; I took a final look at the distance – it was too close – I froze in terror as the menacingly bright and yellow eyes shone straight into my irises. The size of it was tremendous and it took the form of an extremely long metal snake. The huge and gray serpent roared and clanged as it moved on the metal rails; inside the gray objects were creatures being held hostage. It surveyed the crowd as it went past; and left all unharmed.

_What a weird monster.  
We are not his intended targets?_

" Mama, I want to ride on that train! "Said the Lilinette-like creature, as his pointed his round finger at the monster that had just headed off.

I paused. I even stopped breathing (which was essential for this Gigai to function).  
I was confused to the extent, I wonder if it's me or if it's the Gigai that had trembled for two seconds upon realizing that the gigantic serpent was what I had been looking for all along – It was a _Train._

_Why these creatures have no qualms or the slightest tinge of revulsion when facing such a fearsome-looking monster?_

Have I become more useless? Why is it that I begin to fear right now?  
Is it because of the Gigai that is reacting the way these creatures do?  
The creatures have indeed, incredible levels of courage.

I followed the petite male creature whose hand was held by a lady creature. The little one asked a lot of questions but it seemed tamer than Lilinette. I am fully aware that I will definitely get to the station if I had trailed behind them, since they had mentioned about heading to the same direction previously. "Ne~e, look! It's the station! "The lady smiled at the little one, who stared at the architecture with eyes filled with wonder.

_For an instance, I thought I felt quite like that little one too._  
This was something not seen in Las Noches - _We did not have things like train stations._

The station was nothing I had imagined of. It looked like twice the size and length of an Espada's residence. It was entirely supported with metal and cemented rectangular pillars; it had no walls and had dark copper roofs. The creatures enter some kind of colored gates and proceed into station; some of them inserting slips of paper into the gate before they were gained entrance.

_Such weird habits are unfathomable._

I thought it would not be a bad idea if I had approached someone how to get to the destinations written on this piece of paper. I walked forward and stopped a man. He pointed to a brightly lit window where a man dressed in a white top sat – he must have been the one who is in charge of this station.

The man took a slight bow and asked "Is there anything I can be of service? "  
I handed him the piece of paper while studying his reactions to the locations that were written.  
" Ah... , "was all that came out of that man's mouth. He began to reach out for another piece of paper and took out a pen from his pocket.

" You see, they are all located at this station. So you take this train and alight at this station; the next train is at 1445hr. "

_Ichimaru-san, are you playing a trick on me?_  
If they were all located at one place, why did he label each place with a number?  
"Of these locations, you are supposed to find the place with the highest intensity of spiritual energy..." Ichimaru-san's voice rang in my head once more. He wanted the exact _spot_ with the most spiritual energy?

The man sitting behind the window called out to me, "Excuse me?"

" You have to pay 350 yen for the ticket. " He looked up at me.

_Ichimaru-san, if you had prepared a Gigai, I gather that you had equipped it with the commodities the creatures use._ I slotted my hand into the back of my black jeans and true enough, I found a brown square-like object – as there were no awkward reactions from the creature; I had assumed that what I am doing right now is correct.

The man seemed a little impatient and stretched his neck as he began to point at a particular compartment within the object and pulled out a thin piece of paper " This is what I need, please wait while I give you your change. "

_See what I mean by 'complicated'?_

A thin piece of paper was traded to this man for three metallic coins of different sizes, followed by a tiny slip of paper. "Insert the slip of paper into the yellow area of the gate and walk through "The man was now standing and directed me to the colored gates where the creatures enter the station briskly.

" Have a nice day " were the man's last words before I made my way to the red gate. The screen located after the yellow area flashed "Please insert ticket" continuously in a systematic pattern. I examined the yellow slit of gap – it had metallic teeth. I tried to avoid being bitten while slotting in the slip of tiny paper. I presumed the gate was famished for it slurped the paper very quickly and opened the gate. As I was walking midway across, the same paper appeared in front of me. The screen now flashed "Please take ticket "- I did as instructed and took another glance at the tiny ticket. I had understood why the bulky gate was so hungry – it was only allowed to eat a negligible hole out of every ticket.

I made my way to the platform written at the back of the ticket by that man – it was confusing to see 8 similar platforms lined vertically in front of me – mine was Platform 3, yet it was located next to 5 and not 4. Seems like the even numbered platforms were situated at the right side; while the odd ones were all clustered together at the left. While waiting for the train to arrive; I had assured myself that nothing would happen to me for I had not angered the snake at all. Only if I was hurt, I would release my soul from the Gigai. I stood at the dark concrete flooring and stared at the notice board laid across the platform – it had a reflection of me donning the human suit.

I looked contrastingly different. While the eyes are still intact, the lines that descended from my eyes had gone. The Hollow hole which I had been concealing all along had been filled up by pale beige synthetic human skin. I was wearing a white spongy jacket that had long sleeves which covered both my arms till the wrist level. I was wearing a pair of black jeans (I saw this apparel terminology as I was walking towards the station) and black ankle boots. Most importantly, my sword was nowhere to be seen.

_Is this me? _I began to pull out my right hand and touched the skin on my face – it was warm and soft. I studied the reflection and it was mimicking my actions –_ indeed, that person is me_. My reflection was blocked shortly as the metal snake came whirring past me. It began to decelerate gradually and I could see the hostages inside crowding at certain spots.

The hollering of the metal snake stopped, revealing its side doors – so that's where the hostages were crowding. I stepped backwards as they begin to rush out from the insides of the snake the moment the doors flung ajar. Were they being released by the snake? Are we going to be the new hostages of this snake? I stepped into the train reluctantly for the creatures behind began to inch forward. Some sat down on the couches laid horizontally beside the doors, while some preferred to stand. I sat down and attempted to maintain balance as the snake moved through the area, making a rhythmic knocking sound – it was not as creepy as it had first seemed to be; in fact it was peaceful in here.

" Next station... "The snake spoke, it was a lady. Its gray and huge metallic appearance made me thought it was a male; but somehow the voice had proved me wrong. Before the metal snake wanted to stop, it would notify the creatures which station it was going to alight. Sometimes, it said something more: there were foreign terms that I have never heard of – yet it seemed like every single creature understood what the snake meant.

" Tama-Center Station. "I took a glance at the ticket again; it was this station that I had to alight. I was going to be freed by this snake soon. I felt a little relieved that the little adventure was making some forms of progress, at the same time I had wondered if I will ever have a second chance to board this metal snake again.

This station had a different outlook than the previous one that I had boarded from. It had blue glass roofs and had walls. The glass panels allowed sunlight to stream in and the color reminded me of the blue skies I get to see in Las Noches occasionally. The gates at this station had a wider appetite – they ate up my entire ticket. I thought it would be best if I had made the right exit from here, so I approached the people sitting behind the windows – based on previous encounter, I had concluded that they had the best sense of direction.

" Is there anything I can be of service today? "It was a lady this time.

" I want to get to this place, " I showed her the same piece of paper.

" Ah Karakura-chou! Okay you take exit K-12 which located there and that entire area is Karakura-chou, "She did similar hand actions like the previous man.

" I see, " I kept the paper in my jacket.

" Before you go! You should have this map! "The lady took out her pen and started scribbling on this colored paper filled with lines. " I've circled all the places you wanted to visit. Hope you have a fun time at Karakura-chou~ "

" I will, " I replied and headed towards the exit.

_See what I mean by 'complicated'?  
Humans are very complicated creatures, aren't they?_

* * *

**yu-pon's note:  
**Hello everyone!! I'm back with Chapter 9~~ (covers face)

First of all, I would like to thank all for reading this Chapter!  
_ It's a long entry today (it's okay if you guys don't read it haha)_

I'm writing it frequently because I hope to complete it by July -- my school would have commenced by then and I would not have a lot of time to stay online. aww~

I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, to write down some of his observations on very ordinary things we see every day.  
I know Ulquiorra may be a little out of character here... I apologise if he did - haha. I'm sure if you said this to Ulquiorra, you will get a " It's not me, It's the Gigai " reply from him (yu-pon nods her head twice) - i'm a bit crazy because of the late hour. haha.  
I think the Mizore Arc should stretch for another 2 - 3 chapters (ha ha Mizore Arc )!

Okay something to note, Karakura is located at Western Tokyo (that's why I chose Tama Center Station - it's random but at least it's located at the right direction. haha ) - K-12 is completely fictional though, haha.

**Translation notes~**  
Something that I might have missed while writing up the previous chapters, I did not provide translation notes?!  
I'm sorry about it! Hmm **Gigai** is very obvious right - It's a faux body. You see the shinigami-s using it a lot when they visit Ichigo in Karakura~  
Hmm Ichimaru-san's '-san' meant like a way to address Ichimaru Gin. It's like Mr Ichimaru Gin. '-kun' on the other hand, is a more... cuter/affectionate way to address a guy. Usually serious characters do not address their counterparts with '-kun' haha.  
Karakura-chou -- Chou means Town. I guess the characters in Bleach say that quite often too. The kanji for it would be...町~!

Chapter 10, he visits Karakura Town while residing in a faux body (evil smile)  
( by the way, this is approximately 10 years before the main storyline; so it's like 1992 AD now.)  
I have no idea what my brain would think of right now, but i hope it would be nice? XDD

**Thank you for the reviews again!!**

yu-pon will see everyone in Chapter 10 again!  
ほなおつー


	10. 十 Mizore: The One Day Traveler

**White Hibiscus~****ホワイト・ハイビスカス**

**「十」 ****Mizore – The One Day Traveler  
**

_I have close-to-zero intentions of comprehending this quirky place._

Today's observation: Almost every single entity here was given a name – the roads, the trees, and the type of clouds. Even houses had a name tag written at the front wall. It was strange – it was like sorting to ensure everything was in proper condition – it seemed like these creatures loved to be in control in whatever they do. The implementation of names makes the place more confusing than it already has been. Las Noches is definitely an easier place to live in.

_Once I am done with such a place, I am staying at Hueco Mundo for good._

Previously, at the train station, a lady handed me over this multi-colored piece of paper that attempts to fit all the houses into it – silly efforts by those creatures yet again. As a result of this 'compression' project, roads were translated into lines while architectures were depicted as cubes on it. Karakura Town had transformed into a few plots of randomly-shaped quadrilaterals with lines intersecting them into segments. There were a total of 12 segments; with each owning an individually unique name. I reached out for the inner pocket for a device that looked like an electronic rectangular block with a paper stuck on the screen – Press 103 to find Ichimaru Gin! (=

_It was as if I could hear Ichimaru-san talking via the piece of handwritten note.  
103 was the exact number combination for the way he had wanted to be addressed as – Ichimaru-San._

I pressed the numbers as instructed.  
Was it even possible to reach to Ichimaru-san via this rectangular block?

There was a long silence, followed by a soft ringing tone and it went on for a few seconds before...

"Moshi moshi?" It was Ichimaru-san, and for some reason, I could even visualize that smile on his face.

"It's me," By now, I had been fully aware that my name was not allowed to be spoken out aloud.

"Of course it had to be you, Ulquiorra-kun~" That cunning jester chortled slightly – I should actually feel relieved that it was the right person picking up the phone, rather than be bothered about his teasing.

"Regarding the places..." I hoped that Ichimaru-san understood what I was trying to tell him.

"Oh, you are lost?"

"No, there are 5 places that you wanted..."

"Ah, that's for reference. It's not what Aizen-sama wants yo..." Plans have changed again, I suppose.

"What am I supposed to do now?" I had to wait for new instructions? The last thing that I want to hear from Ichimaru-san was the order to "remain in Karakura until further notice" - this place is utterly brain-draining.

"Calm down, Ulquiorra-kun. First things first, I would like to congratulate you on reaching Karakura Town safely. Seems like you can adapt pretty well, right? " The fox remarked wryly.

I had not said a word to it. It was not my nature to say no to Ichimaru-san; yet I was not able repress the awkward feeling to bring myself to agree to what he had just said. Remaining silence would be just perfect.

"Ulquiorra-kun?"

"Yes?"

"You don't like Karakura Town?"

"No. It's just that..."

"Good, "Ichimaru-san sounded relieved.

_I wanted to mean "No, I don't like Karakura Town at all ".__  
It looks like another case of misunderstanding; yet I had not removed the assumption that it might have been one of the smiling man's tricks._

"That's because you need to play a game," Ichimaru-san sounded extremely excited about it.

"A game?"

"Yes, Your _Aizen-sama _calls this a Traveler's Game."

It was a ploy – Ichimaru-san's use of that man's name was just to entice me to play this game. That game turned out to be way tougher than he had once promised it would be - "find the place with the high intensity" turned out to be another lie Ichimaru-san had made up.

"After this call, you have to use this device to activate the 'counter' device – this indicates the number of souls in this area. Remember, it has to be at 100,000 and above. "

"When all the counting has been done, you have to calculate the intensity of spiritual activity in this place. Karakura is very active with shinigami activity, so we need to dispatch the right amount of Espadas when a real battle commences."

"The last mission would be to have you gather information, which means you have to do a little walking. We need the exact coordinates of the four ends of Karakura Town, that's all. The device can tell you where it is by flashing its screen upon contact with the spot. When all it's done, you can come back home."

"Understood," When I heard that I would have to walk round the perimeter in order to get those co-ordinates, I cringed in disgust. This mission was worse than babysitting Las Noches.

"Aizen-sama will welcome you home okay?" I was almost sure that was meant as a sarcastic remark.

_Well, it takes a long time to see through Ichimaru-san._

I stood by the unlit lamp post and tried to figure out a way to activate the "Counter Device" - which required me to press the middle round button twice. The screen would then start blinking as it collated the number of souls in Karakura Town – it had 136,248 souls, living and wandering combined. This number seemed extremely large for a small place like this – souls seemed to have gathered at Karakura Town, for a reason. What were they attracted to?

I pressed the next button as quickly as I could in order to analyze the level of spiritual activity.

_Results were surprising: Negative._

_Impossible._  
I could sense the intensity of spiritual activity way beneath this Gigai suit, yet this device is telling otherwise. It had to be the work of the Shinigamis who resided in Karakura Town – they were trying to keep this place out of sight from Aizen-sama. This finding had only made Karakura Town more suspicious than it had ever been.

Karakura Town looked like any ordinary town in this place. It had little, almost negligible differences from the one I just left – the houses had near-identical heights; there were scribbling all over the paths; and there were creatures which were dressed in the same fashion as well. However, it seemed like there were more than just humans living in Karakura Town – Hollows would appear randomly and low-ranked Shinigamis would jump out and eradicate them. Hollows would only be attracted to one thing – potent souls; and the citizens living in this area possess them.

_Aizen-sama, too, apparently was after this town for this unique characteristic._

Now for the final mission – it appeared to me like a very long one.  
Treat this like a trial given to you by Aizen-sama – do it without complaining too much.

***

I started off with this segment called Kitakawase – it was given this name because a deep-flowing river intersects the area at the northern edge. I had to stand at this particular edge and align the rectangular block so that it is able to tap the exact number combination. I was deducing that it may be due to the Karasu River that it made gathering data a little more challenging – the exact coordinate was on this piece of rock that was inching closer to the water body each time I click the button on the recording device. I kept thinking to myself, How on earth... is this supposed to help Aizen-sama achieve his lifelong dream? There were humans who kept initiating conversations with me, but I had totally ignored them – for there were more important businesses to complete right now. Most of them were waving their hands to halt my movements and sounded very frantic. I turned to look at them the moment my device locked the coordinates into its internal memory space.

_Correct my observations if I'm wrong, humans do have excellent imagination levels._

"Are you okay, young man?" One aged lady asked worriedly.

"Yes" I wasn't so sure what had happened to me. Why did she want to know if I'm okay?

My arm was then grabbed firmly by that same human.  
She had eyes that looked like mine – water drops were gathering at the sides of her eyes.

"Don't give up your precious life just like that," She began to rub her eyes.  
Her warm left hand was still gripping onto my white jacket – there were no signs of letting go.

_I've grown used to being misunderstood. This woman definitely had vivid imaginations._

"I won't," I let out a sigh and removed her bony hand from mine. She struggled her way down the rock and nearly slipped off the smooth edges – I caught her before she disappeared from my eyes. Why did she risk her life instead, to stop me from taking my life? What eccentric behavior.

"You should not give up your precious life," I lifted her words while picking up the device, with a small exception – I hadn't meant what I said. I do not see what is so 'precious' about living on this world. In fact, I intended to explain to the wrinkled-faced lady that I was already dead; so her words would not work for a person like me – but I had expected that she might ask more complicated questions – so I left things the way they were.

I had three more corners to returning to Hueco Mundo. After the Karasu River, I took an approximate 2 hour walk to reach Yumisawa – it had a large sand patch where many little humans were riding on plastic horses; sliding down a blue elephant made of concrete. There were tiny planks of wood that were suspended above ground level – these humans would fight their way to sit on one and rock themselves like a moving pendulum. The higher they went, the sharper were the pitch of their shrilling. They had a common expression on their faces; something which I was not born to do. It was not an easy task for me to accomplish; even if I had tried to mimic the way the creatures did, the lines on my mouth would not budge – I was never made to smile.

Gakuenchou was just located next to Yumisawa. The name Gakuenchou spelled out School Town. Schools were very large buildings that house huge armies of creatures with very close age groups. They wore outfits, just like Espadas would – while most schools preferred white as their outfits, there were schools that chose other colors. Humans have to prepare for war too? While most soldiers were not armed with swords; they carried along with them bags and countless of books – I guess those were their form of weapons in this world. I should keep a look out of these places; it would not be optimistic if I had to take on all of them at one go. The coordinate indicator was beeping loudly as I went past Karakura College – it was sitting on the grass patch at the back gate. There was only one way to get to that spot – get over the wall, run past the corridor of windows, jump across the dark-colored fence, walk a little more and place the device on the grass blades. It would have been easier if the armies had left the premises. I took a glance and noticed all the windows were lit – they were still conducting battle training – this made things more challenging.

Getting over the front wall was simple, even when the black grilled gates were tightly shut. I strode into the premises trying my best to pass off as a fellow soldier who was about to change into my outfit – which I obviously do not have it. Some soldiers who were arranged in a line waiting to get food began to point at my direction and started whispering to one another. None of them had turned violent, yet. Two lady soldiers approached me with gleaming eyes and asked earnestly,

"Ne,ne~ are you our new teacher?"

_If I had said no, I might not be able to get to my destination._

"Yes," I lied.

"Wow!!! What would you be teaching us?"

"It has not been decided yet," _A lie would always lead to another. That is why I dislike lying; because you have to be creative to keep lying.  
_

"I hope you would be coming to our class though!" They seemed to be very excited about this. I was not able to provide any lies for that sentence, so I kept silent again. I took a slight bow and walked past the dark gray windows – I saw what the soldiers were doing to prepare for impending battles. They sat and listened to the words delivered by one human – I suppose they were discussing strategies on how to tackle their opponents.

It was a good thing that the soldiers were focusing so much on their tactic-brainstorming sessions that I was able to jump over the fence without being noticed, I allowed the device to capture whatever information it wanted while I pondered over what I had just saw.

I had wanted to know why that human was not wearing the common outfit everyone donned.

What was he? The leader? He could not have been, right? _That's because Aizen-sama also wore Espada outfits like us._ He had his own way of leading the army – wearing the same color meant that he would be on our side, no matter what had happened.

The device clicked to signal the completion of data gathering. Two more – Kinogaya and Minamikawase.  
As the body refused to move in Sonido, I charged towards both locations at full speed. Kinogaya was like the more deserted part of Karakura Town – it was cordoned off and had tight security – the creatures here had worn white plastic caps and black rubber boots. The third coordinate was located beside a pile of fallen tree trunks – I had to remain concealed behind the shrubs as I threw out the device. The impact of the device could no t be heard by the creatures because the weapons they were using to fell trees gave out a louder whirring sound. What were these trees for? I was unable to find an explanation to what was going on in that area but I managed to pass by a large white board which wrote " Proposed: Construction of Shopping Mall " - it felt like I witnessed a portion how Las Noches could have been built in this manner too.

Minamikawase was my last stop and had looked almost similar to Kitakawase, except that the river was now located at the southern part of the segment. By the time I had reached the river, it was 2130hr on the device. The sky had grown darker and there were white specks all over the black carpet – it was not as dark as Hueco Mundo's. Those white specks, are they snowflakes stuck on the surface of the sky? The moon was of a circular shape and resembled very much like the light given off by the lamp post. I positioned the device for the last time and took a final look at Karakura Town – The night sky was still better than the bright blue ones. As the device clicked for the last time, I dialed 103 on the rectangular block again.

"Go to the clock tower at Sakurabashi; it's less visible from the Shinigamis if you were to open up a Garganta," were the final instructions on Earth.

Sakurabashi was located across the road and the colored paper that was given to me at the train station indicated that the clock tower was a signature of that area. The clock tower was built with such precision and accuracy that most of the residents relied upon it to catch their trains on time. I looked up at the long black cuboid – the clock face read "2145hr". I was about to raise my right hand and open the dark hole when I heard a familiar name.

"Mizore...nii chan?"  
Only one person called me by this name.

_I was not sure if I should turn around and look at your face then._

* * *

**yu-pon's note:  
(it's Chapter 10 - yay~)**

Hello again~ thanks for reading!  
I think most of you would be goggled-eyed when you are reading this chapter.  
I can understand why - the use of Japanese town names right?  
(actually these names are taken from... Bleach's Karakura Town Map)  
I was busy this week (with air tickets) so I wasn't able to do a good job, _imo_.  
Please forgive me. m(_ _)m

**Translation notes:**  
I'll give this first.** Ichimaru-san** = 103 because Ichi is one, Maru is a round circle (can be denoted as a 0 in numerical terms), San is 3!!  
(and Ichimaru Gin drew a inverted smile... because he meant it this way, or rather I wanted him like that. XDD)

**Moshi moshi** - Hello? Usually girls use this way to pick up phone calls. Guys will use "Hai." - yes? instead. Ichimaru Gin was just being naughty here ~ heehee.

**Ne,ne** - is more like "hey there" i guess. this is kinda hard to define -- but it's used when you want to catch the person's attention.

**Kitakawase, Yumisawa, Karasu River, Gakuenchou, Kinogaya, Minamikawase and Sakurabashi** are all names found on the Karakura Town Map.

Chapter 11, I need not say anything more right?  
(apologies for making Ulquiorra-san sound like a paedophile okay.. XDD he's not!)

For those who didn't enjoy 10, I will make you love 11. nah, just kidding.  
(ties ribbon to yu-pon's head and starts thinking.)  
Till then!  
ほなおつー


	11. 十一 Mizore: Snow White

**White Hibiscus~****ホワイト・ハイビスカス**

**「十一」 ****Mizore – Snow White  
**

_If I had been bolder, I might even ask you this question._  
"_What happened to Snow White?"  
That story you never finished reading.  
Mizore would have wanted to know the ending._

"Mizore...Nii-chan?" The child sounded uncertain.

_There wasn't a need to turn back._

"You are Mizore-nii chan right?" The child wanted a confirmation.

I heard footsteps traveling fast; she was running and panting away.  
This time, she tugged the back of my jacket and she gripped it tighter.

"Girl," I said, with my back still facing her.  
"It's late, you should go home,"

_When she was older, she said things like,_  
"_What do you know? You don't know anything. Stop saying like you know everything."  
I never wanted to tell her that I actually did.  
She might not look like it; but she was a determined child._

She gripped onto my jacket and popped out from the side.  
"It's really Mizore-nii chan!" She pointed her tiny finger at me.

"Girl, you should go home," I repeated to her.

"Ah~ it's okay! I'm waiting for Sora-nii chan to come home," She smiled whenever she mentioned his name.

"I see," I looked down at the little girl. She was staring into my eyes, much like how we had once met. It was then I had noticed the manner she was dressed in – she, too was a soldier of a School.

"Today's my first day of school!" The orange-haired girl pointed to her brooch. It had a different emblem from the one I infiltrated.

"That... must be your weapon," I pointed to the black bag that she was carrying.

"Weapon? Oh yes, I hit boys with it whenever they made fun of my hair color!" She affirmed the sentence with a loud but shaky voice. That confident phase then turned into a gloomy expression.

The little girl sighed out softly,  
"But... I am never strong enough, so I end up crying," She lowered her head and clenched her fists.

_That's right; she had always wanted to be stronger._

"This?" I pointed at the red colored book she was holding. She was equipped with the same things the army of humans had when I went to Gakuenchou.

"Oh, this? This is my favorite storybook! Nakayama-sensei would always read to us on Fridays~" She showed the title to me with both hands. The golden words read "Snow White".

"I see," Curiosity filled my head again. "How does this weapon work?"

The girl trotted to the steps that led to the clock tower. I followed closely behind her brown boots.  
"Sit down, or I won't show you," she swept away the snow that had accumulated on the surface with her freezing bare hands.

I made an observation on how she sat, before I walked to her right and did the same. She smiled and opened the the hard red cover; there were black curvy words printed in the middle "Snow White" followed by six Japanese syllables.

"Shirayuki Hime," I read out softly. This weapon hardly does anything; it only lets the user know what is being written in it, it's not even a spell incantation. What do you benefit from this? How does it even attack its opponent?

"Un! First page!" She flipped very quickly to the piece of paper that had a "1" branded at the right corner. Each piece had a unique number. Unlike Espadas where the smaller the number, the higher their abilities; the book hides its better skills at the middle portion.

The story flowed from the words that came out verbally. She would read every single word with caution and point to the illustrations. Snow White was a lady creature that lived deep in the woods. She sparked jealousy because of her abilities and was ordered to be killed by her stepmother.

The girl stopped reading and said in a muffled voice,  
"My mom, she was like Snow White's stepmother too,"

I waited for her to continue what she wanted to say.

"She hates me..." The girl pulled up her sleeves which revealed random red lines that streaked her fair skin. "Why did she hate me?" The water drops that fell out of her eyes were huge; and they kept trickling down her pink cheeks.

The weapons and skills that I was equipped with had not included ways to tackle with the current situation. I stood up and stared at the nearby white fence, my hands in the pockets of my jacket.

"You are not Snow White," I said to the girl.

_It worked_. She seemed to have diverted her attention to that sentence.

"What am I then?"

"I don't know," I shrugged.  
From the eyes of an Espada, you are a weak and useless creature. In fact, if I had wanted to make you cry, I could simply label you as "trash". An angered Espada like Grimmjow or Nnoitra would have stabbed you with their zanpakutous without hesitation; Neliel or Stark would have just walked away, ignoring the fact that you actually existed – because you don't have the ability and the reason to fight them.

I was absolutely sure she was the reverse of Snow White. My analysis couldn't be wrong.  
"Snow White, she doesn't smile," I bent over and pointed to the illustration on page 24, Snow White was sitting by the fountain with a solemn expression – she looked like she wanted to get away from the place where she had lived.

Her eyes studied the expression of the character – it was a straight thin black line. She then touched her own lips.  
"It's different!" Her eyes brightened up a little and then they closed up; she smiled at the black-and-white picture.

_You are capable doing that something I can never do.  
For that differentiates the both of us, you should keep doing it._

I lifted my head and saw the time that was displayed on the clock tower. It was time to return to Hueco Mundo, but I had another problem – the girl must not see what I'm doing. I reached out from the inner pockets and pulled out another device. Ichimaru-san said to use that to surrounding humans if they had seen me using the Garganta.

_Should I use it on that girl?_

"Listen, girl," I bent down and showed the orange-haired girl the device.

"What is this? Lighter?"

"I don't know,"

"Looks interesting,"

"How do you want Snow White to end?" I thought of asking the girl this question.

She got on to her feet and started weaving her own version of the story. Both of us never knew the real ending at that time. In her eyes, she wanted Snow White to forgive her stepmother's wrong doings. Snow White will leave the place according to her stepmother's wishes. It did not matter where Snow White will go, as long her stepmother could be happy, she will be one too.

"Then...Snow White will be stronger here." She placed both palms on her chest area.

"And?"

"She will fight all the baddies who make her cry," She gave me a determined look again.

"Okay," I flipped the switch and a puff of white smoke filled her face. She collapsed to the ground unconscious. I dragged her body under the clock tower and positioned her in such a way she fell asleep reading her book.

_Mizore, as of now, has perished from this face of the world._

I went to the back of the black obelisk and opened up the Garganta. Before I walked in, I took another glance at the sleeping child. I had remembered she didn't like goodbyes, so I did not say one to her. This complicated world where I was sent to, I was glad that things have come to an end.

_Till we see one another again, girl.  
And when we do, tell me the real ending.  
_

_***  
_

"Orihime~ why are you here?"

"I...Eh? Why am I here? I wanted to wait for you by the clock tower. I brought this book out to read and waited and..."

"It's so cold now. Next time, wait at home, okay?"

"Onii-chan, you know I met Santa! He finished this story for me."

"Orihime, you must be dreaming."

"No! It really happened! The guy with the white beard and he wore the red hat! He sat down and finished the story!"

"Okay so what happened in the end? What happened to Snow White?"

"She became stronger and fought off all the bad people!"

"Haha, Orihime, the story didn't end like that."

"But Santa said..."

"Orihime, maybe Santa wants you to be like Snow White."

"Orihime doesn't want to be Snow White. Orihime wants to be Orihime!"

"Okay okay. Orihime will always be the Orihime I like. Shall we go home now?"

"Un!"

* * *

**yu-pon's note:  
**Hello! I'm back again (covers face)!!  
I did not take the weekend off, because July is coming soon.  
Thank you for the encouraging reviews!! I actually had the intention of making Ulquiorra bump into schoolkids and then I thought since Orihime is one herself, why not let her bump into him instead? haha.  
(I'm opening up anonymous reviews~ XDD so you need not log in - but I prefer to reply so...it's up to you!)

Hope you loved this chapter (crosses fingers)!  
Somehow I can't write very sweet chapters for the two of them.  
I'll keep trying~ please don't give up hope on me!  
The italics were actually Ulquiorra narrating in present timing, well most of them were.

This is such a short chapter (sweats)  
Next Chapter is Hueco Mundo already~not going to tell you much because it's a blank sheet right now haha.

**Translation notes:  
**I can only remember Shirayukihime (白雪姫) - That's Snow White in Japanese. Onii-chan is elder brother in Japanese; kids or very cute characters tend to call their elder brothers in that fashion.

Chapter 12 then!  
ほなおつー


	12. 十二 Tactics

**White Hibiscus~****ホワイト・ハイビスカス~**

**「十二」 ****Tactics  


* * *

**

_Before this chapter begins, I want to say that... Ulquiorra will be sharing the limelight with three other characters this time._

* * *

When I stepped into the gates of Las Noches again, three pairs of eyes were fixated onto me.

They had been discussing, but it came to a halt when they sensed the gates opening; as if they did not want me in on this secret meeting. They tried to pass off like they were just having tea – _it won't work on someone like me_. As they did not seem like the ones who would be poorly skilled in acting, I concluded that there was hidden agenda to those actions.

"You are back, Ulquiorra-kun," the silver-haired one commented.

"How was Karakura Town?" The gray blindfolded man asked.

Before I had the time to reply each man, I heard loud footsteps.  
The last man had not said anything, but he began to approach me slowly; each step he took had a light and crisp echo that followed closely behind. When he was near, he smiled at the green eyes.

"Welcome back. Do you want to take a peek at the new world?"

I had not expected him to say that.  
This man does not ask of his subordinates questions that require one to decide "yes" or "no"; _questions were just mere orders_.  
Since he said so, I have no right to refuse that order.

I shifted my eye-contact to the men who had their fingers resting on their cups.

"I'm back, Ichimaru-san,"

"Karakura Town showed interesting readings, Tousen-san,"

"Come over and sit down, Ulquiorra."

"Understood, Aizen-sama."

He nodded slightly and raised his right hand – the meeting had continued.  
I walked over and sat at the usual spot.

"You see, plans have changed for the better," The leader made a random gesture with both hands.

The Gotei 13 underwent a _minor_ facelift – Ichimaru-san and Tousen-san are now Captains of the 3rd and the 9th Division respectively – Needless to say, they had been secretly recommended by the 5th Division Captain, who had skillfully manipulated things around. It was considered good news; for it made things even easier to control at Seireitei – with three Divisions (out of 13) under the control of Aizen-sama.

"War may be inevitable," Tousen-san analyzed the situation.

"But," The usurper of Hueco Mundo begged to differ.

"I'm almost confident to say, things are going as planned,"

"Well, that means there is nothing to worry now," Ichimaru-san remarked and leaned backwards on the chair.

"One thing though," Aizen-sama pointed out.

"Urahara Kisuke and Shihouin Yoruichi," These were two very unfamiliar names. Aizen-sama had used the word "dangerous" and "look out" on these two exiled Captains – they were the ones who saw through his experiments and had figured out his ulterior motive. He went on remarking that Urahara Kisuke could negate his moves and was skilled enough to exchange up to 15 moves barehanded.

"Urahara Kisuke knows that I'm after the Hougyoku; but he's not aware _why_ I needed it,"

"Well, we've found out where the Hougyoku has been hiding all these years," The silver-haired fox made it sound like it was a groundbreaking announcement.

As I sat in that very seat, I couldn't make much sense of what this meeting was all about. Why would Aizen-sama involve me in this meeting where almost everything has been solved? There must be something that had gone wrong.

"That captain is easy to deal with," Ichimaru-san's grin widened slightly – I knew the meaning of that smile.

"It's just the other one _behind those curtains_," he continued.

"I have an idea here," Aizen-sama pointed to his head and looked upwards.

There was a moment of silence.  
"I want to hear what you think about this situation though, Ulquiorra," He then shifted his attention on me.

_He wanted me to provide him with an analysis based on two ambiguous facts.  
I had neither seen, nor heard of who these captains were – how am I supposed to give an accurate statement?_

"I can only do what I'm best at,"  
This pathetic reply was unfortunately, the best answer I could come up with during that short interval.

I looked at Aizen-sama. As I began to mouth the first word, Aizen-sama's lips turned into a faint smile; _as if he knew what they were too_.

"Wait and see," Aizen-sama had said the exact words I had breathed out, at the same time.

"Wait and see?" Tousen-san was not too sure why the leader would make such a statement. Up till now, Aizen-sama had carried out his plans quietly but in an extremely swift and steady pace – so why would he want to "wait and see" when the goal seemed so attainable now?

"Well, first. We have to wait for her to get her first mission," The mastermind replied calmly.

"That's the _waiting_ part," Ichimaru-san had gotten the idea of the new plan.

"We would then monitor how strong she is..." Aizen-sama closed his eyes, like he was visualizing the entire situation.

"And...? Ulquiorra?"

_It didn't take me too long to comprehend the new tactics._  
"Send in a Hollow strong enough to leave her heavily injured,"

"Ah~ so that's the _seeing_ part. Nice follow-up, Ulquiorra-kun," Ichimaru-san smiled at me.

"Since she's not even lieutenant level, we need not send out the huge ones to deal with her," Tousen-san mentioned this person's strength level. _Not even at lieutenant level? That's just trash._

"A heavily injured Shinigami would make things easier, won't it?" Aizen-sama smiled.

"So heavily injured she would be, that she could not return to Soul Society," Ichimaru-san loved the way the plan was moving.

"She will turn to Urahara Kisuke for an untraceable Gigai, who would gladly save her, at all costs," Tousen-san had also grasped the idea.

"This move would go against the rules of the people at the Central Underground Assembly Hall, " The captains themselves were familiar with the way Soul Society had functioned.

"But," Aizen-sama had raised another point. He paused after that word, as if waiting for someone to finish that sentence for him.

"Oya~ Ulquiorra-kun, you don't know who we are referring to right?" Ichimaru-san mocked at my ignorance.

"Kuchiki Byakuya will try to prevent that from happening," Tousen-san got the answer right.

"That's right. He's the only obstacle, so all we have to do...is to eliminate this hurdle."

Aizen-sama seemed extremely confident by now that everyone at the table knew of this ominous plan.

"How do we eliminate this hurdle then?" Ichimaru-san raised this question intentionally; even when he's fully aware of the answer.

_I do not have to repeat myself about this leader whom I'm currently under.  
Like I had once said, this man only wants to be the sole existence of the entire world._

Aizen-sama stood up and placed both hands on the table.

He bent a little forward and gave a smirk.

"It's simple. We become the Government itself."

* * *

**yu-pon's note:  
**Thank you for reading!  
_Personal comment_: This is my favourite chapter so far. seriously. I really surprised myself for writing this chapter out.  
My only wish is that you will love this as much as I did.

This chapter required a lot of research, haha.  
I referred to Episode 1, 62 and...114 of the anime - because I had not known the exact chapters of the manga to flip to.  
Research was one thing, brain juice was the other.

Okay there may be confusion between the first captain and the one _behind those curtains _captain - I'll reveal the answer under this segment in the next chapter okay?

I mean, if you had watched the anime/ read the manga...you simply know who I'm talking about right?  
There's not even the need to mention names. XDD

(That's why I love this chapter so much. (hugs self) )  
Off to reply reviews -- it's 0430hr.

Chapter 13, haha...it's like a Part 2.  
Well I'm introducing the Strawberry boy, finally! _haha._

Till the next chapter~  
ほなおつー


	13. 十三 The Naughty Strawberry Glitch

**White Hibiscus~****ホワイト・ハイビスカス~**

**「十三」 ****The Naughty Strawberry Glitch**

_You never do what I tell you to,  
Even when I try to do things your way._

_How many times,  
Have you contradicted yourself?_

Humans say words that make no meaning to one another; but eventually, the message will always be conveyed to the other party.  
I tried to grasp the concept that was embedded within; yet I could not understand how it was done.

Aizen-sama's plan fell into place a few years later – The Shinigami went to the real world to vanquish the slightly-larger Hollow – it was one of her first missions on her own. It could have been a very simple assignment for her; the instructions had been straightforward – banish the Hollow back to Hueco Mundo.

_The plan had been flawless._

The Hollow brandished its large teeth and attacked the humans. It was not a bad idea to send out such a useless Hollow to deal with that Shinigami; for she was extremely weak. The catch lay in the Hollow itself – their attacks are highly instinct-based. These underlings are solely attracted to souls with high spiritual power – consume the soul and the power of the Hollow increases as well. She realized that her powers were showing signs of deterioration; but could not figure out why. Later that night, the Hollow turned violent when it detected enormous levels of spiritual energy emanating from a School's soldier – it became the Shinigami's duty to protect him, even if she was unable to. She charged towards the monster with a fragile zanpakutou that left an almost negligible scratch mark on its mask – her sole intention was not to eradicate it; she had only hoped that it would at least make it escape.

_Keep the boy safe_, seemed like the way she was constantly reminding herself. Her spiritual pressure increased a notch during that split second.  
Yet, that effort was regarded as useless - the Hollow sunk those huge teeth into her body and yelped hysterically as she pushed it away. Bleeding profusely, the Shinigami fell onto the ground.

The unarmed soldier stood there, fear and uncertainty filled those eyes.

_A heavily injured Shinigami would make things a lot easier, right?_  
As I stood behind the screen, Aizen-sama's words were like a prophecy come true – we were another inch closer to the new world.

_You see, the plan had been so flawless.  
Until you came along._

The screen then flashed the two of them sharing a conversation I could make no sense out of it, as if they were speaking in secret codes.  
"Do you want you save your family?" The Shinigami asked.

The soldier's eyes changed. They looked anxious now.

"Of course. Is there...Is there a way to?" He became slightly desperate.

The Shinigami struggled with her seemingly heavy zanpakutou; as she waved the sword weakly and pointed the blade at that boy. "You must turn into a Shinigami," she made a ridiculous statement and went on elaborating how to become one.

She warned, "I am not sure if this will work; but this is the only way I can think of right now."

_I glanced at the soldier, waiting for his reply.  
His eyes had no more fear. Why is this so?_

"Give me the sword, Shinigami." The soldier spoke, with unwavering eyes.

This should not have been his answer._  
Isn't he supposed to feel despair while dealing with such situations?  
Where did that sudden resolute come from?_

The Shinigami's eyes were shaking, "I'm not a Shinigami. I'm Kuchiki Rukia," She had gathered her ounces of strength to say those words.

The soldier stared into her eyes, "I'm... Kurosaki Ichigo," and plunged the sword into his own heart.  
There were no signs of hesitation when he took his own life.

The odds of failure may be extremely high; but he did not care much._  
_

_Even without expressing directly, the message was conveyed._

The human boy was now much stronger than the female Shinigami; with one strike from the zanpakutou and a loud roar - he took out the Hollow without much effort.

For an instance, everything seemed like a hallucination – with the exception that I am fully aware I'm not capable of doing that._  
I just witnessed a part of Aizen-sama's plan crumble. _

_The flow of the initial plan had paused because of that boy's actions._

_How could that even happen?_

A human turned Shinigami, with a zanpakutou so huge that he had to sling the sword over his shoulders. His spiritual energy was so strong that at one moment, it had blinded the Shinigami's senses - his existence was like a complete contradiction.

His intrusion into this incident was like a silent technical glitch left unnoticed for a long time.  
Without him, things would have gone smoothly.

"Kurosaki Ichigo," Aizen-sama casted his attention over at the flickering screen.

"Aizen-sama, the plan..." I stared at the screen.  
Was there a need to take the glitch out of the picture?

"It's okay. We can leave things as it is for now. It won't affect much anyway," He replied as he kept his eyes fixed on the human Shinigami.

"Interesting," Aizen-sama commented.

_You hear that?_ Kurosaki Ichigo.  
That word that Aizen-sama had used to describe you, a human – interesting.  
The only other time he used that word was when I saw through his Kyouka Suigetsu.

In what ways were you interesting, Kurosaki Ichigo?  
You were merely a conceited human that had gained some new powers, that's all.  
Since that was not an order issued by Aizen-sama, I could choose to disagree with him.  
Until I analyze you in person, I will not recognize the fact that you are "interesting".

In my eyes, you were just a boy who never listened.  
An annoying glitch that ruined everything we had for you.

It became a gradual habit of mine to try to make you listen, because you simply won't.  
Even when I tried to put myself in a similar situation like that Shinigami girl.

I pointed the sword at you.  
_Take my life just like you have taken yours before.  
Pierce that dark blade of yours into me._

Yet, you disobeyed.

You yelled "That isn't the way I wanted to win!"_  
I hadn't asked how you wanted to._

When you humans run out of excuses to give,  
You will always talk about things that you cannot see.  
When you can't see it, then how do you start talking about it?  
Where did those descriptions hail from?  
It's confusing, isn't it?

"Hell yea, I believe what my heart says"  
If that is so, the heart is a person that talks?  
"I see it because my heart sees it"  
If that is so, the heart is something that has eyes?

_Stop contradicting yourself, Kurosaki Ichigo.  
You don't have one._

I've seen a human heart – it was red in color and had four thick pipes.  
When it was alive, it thumped loudly within the human body.  
Is that the heart these people are talking about?  
Then perhaps the only reason I could justify with my observations would be the heart that I saw must have been blind and mute; for it couldn't see nor could it talk.

It was then my memory jerked out another image.  
It was playing what I had once told that woman.  
I said I had no heart._ I wished I could have said more to her._

"Woman, you know that man who is trying desperately to save you out there, he doesn't have a heart too."  
Surely, when you hear these words coming out from me, you might slap my face hard and have tears filling up at your irises.

You hadn't known this, woman.  
His heart had been stabbed deeply by a Shinigami blade._  
_

_You see, woman.  
He does not have a heart too; his heart had been long dead since then.  
I've seen that with my own eyes._

So listen to me for once, Kurosaki Ichigo.  
If I had told you that,  
I believe the both of us are highly similar in many ways.  
That we both do not have hearts.

_What would you say to me then?_

_

* * *

_**yu-pon's note:  
**Thank you for reading! How was it?  
Seems like 12 wasn't as well-liked (droops head)  
Aww it's okay! We shall work harder together ya, Ulquiorra?

12 had riddles right XDD  
(which was the reason why I liked 12↓)  
well the two captains were Ukitake Juushiro and Kuchiki Byakuya, respectively.  
They are the more direct captains related to Rukia that's why.

Anyhow! I submitted another entry in less than 24 hours↑↑↑  
This is like Episode 1 of the anime (Ulquiorra monologue session)~  
plus a little 354 here and there.  
I wrote this in a attempting-to-sound-like-Bleach-style manner XDD  
shall test the response again :P

In my world, in my head; I feel Ichigo and Ulquiorra might be similar in certain ways.  
(even though on the surface it's more Ichigo and Grimmjow? but I feel internally they may be similar haha)

I'm going to do a little fast-forward. (apologies)  
and zoom~ take everyone to the Arrancar Arc - Chapter 14!!

See ya there,  
ほなおつー


	14. 十四 Unzip

**White Hibiscus~****ホワイト・ハイビスカス~**

**「十四」 ****Unzip.**

_I had wanted to do it the peaceful way.  
You see, there was no meaning in taking your life, ever._

That day, when Aizen-sama, Ichimaru-san and Tousen-san announced they would return to Las Noches for good – I knew their cover had been blown; they were banished from Soul Society. I had not wanted to know the reason why – to me, coming back to this place spelled good news. Now they were all back in Las Noches, order would be restored and maintained for a long time. War was just creeping closer by the days.

There was an orb that Aizen-sama was twiddling with when he summoned for me today.

"I need you to make a trip down to Karakura Town again," Aizen-sama kept his eyes with that see-through purple crystal – there was a form of hidden energy radiating from within the inner walls of the sphere; it looked powerful.

"Understood, Aizen-sama,"

"Record everything you see, Ulquiorra," were the orders issued by Aizen-sama.

Even when he knew I would not do something violent, he mentioned that "avoiding conflicts" would be highly encouraged.  
"I understand, Aizen-sama,"

It was not a difficult task to complete, as compared to the _previous_ mission of tracking the puzzling co-ordinates – it was so confidential that none of the Espadas knew what that was for.

"Our target this time, is...," Aizen-sama began to close his eyes and recalled the events that happened in Soul Society.

"A Human boy with orange hair and a black bankai,"

"Am I supposed to go find him?"

"There's no need to. When he detects you, he'll find you himself."

"Oh, Ulquiorra?"

"Yes?"

"Meet Karakura Town in your Arrancar form. Trust me, the target would welcome you with open arms," Aizen-sama flashed a smirk.

"Understood. I'll come back with my observations soon,"

"Alright, Ulquiorra. If you think he's worthless to us, I leave the rest of the decision to you."  
Aizen-sama just gave me the green light to take this person out if he's useless.

The color orange reminded me of two people.  
That little girl and that _interesting _young boy.

During one of the Espada meetings, the topics that revolved round that boy raised a lot of commotions – that he achieved his bankai in less than a week; that he had enough power to take on a few Lieutenant-level Shinigamis at one go; and some of his outrageous acts in Seireitei. One even pointed out his potential in high-speed regeneration – and raised the possibility of being one of us to Aizen-sama – he smiled and said nothing about that comment. I stole a glance at Ichimaru-san who commented, "We are not sure yet. Who knows, he might be a part of us. After all, he does look like one of you,"

_One of us? Stop kidding, Ichimaru-san._  
I hardly took my words back. When I met him some time later, I doubted that judgment._  
There was a point he got so powerful that I was almost sure,  
He could have been an Espada too._

Just when I was about to leave Las Noches, I heard a crude and rough voice coming from behind.  
"Where are you heading to, Ulquiorra?"

I stopped. It was the Décima Espada, Yammy Rialgo.

"Karakura Town,"

"And why are you heading there?"

"For a mission,"

"I'm coming with you!" Yammy insisted.

"I can do this entire mission on my own." I spoke louder this time.

"I just want to have fun. This place is so boring!" the impatient Espada snapped in.

"Missions are not supposed be fun," I sighed out.

Yammy was known in Hueco Mundo as the Tenth Espada, and a very simple-minded one. He was one with rather low levels of tolerance, and has one of the poorest observation skills amongst us – he attacks anyone at sight without even determining how strong that person is – a rash and foolish move. He once said that the way my name was pronounced resembled a jingle, so he went around Las Noches calling me by my name; as if to mock at how 'funny' it sounded to him. I did not care much about what people call me, as long as work was being done, he could do anything he wanted.

"Naa~Ulquiorra," Yammy spoke as I opened up the Garganta.

"We should probably make a grand entrance into Karakura Town,"

"Why?"

"For the fun of it," Yammy sure was capable of brainless ideas like this.

"Whatever,"

"We should land with a huge explosion, so that the entire Karakura Town would shake!"

"Whatever,"

On second thoughts, Yammy's idea did not seem like a bad one. If the attention of Karakura Town was drawn onto that explosion, it might be easier to locate the target.

"Let me open up the Garganta instead, Ulquiorra," Yammy was chuckling at his supposedly ingenious idea; that he seemed to be taking charge for handling the Garganta.

"When the hole opens, just jump straight down!" He roared with enthusiasm.

Yammy sounded just like he lost his brains; I sighed out loud at his mental age, "Choose somewhere with trees. I don't want to create so much damage," It was no use trying to argue sense with such fools.

_Observe. Then decide what you want to do with the target._  
I repeated Aizen-sama's orders in my head as we traveled inside the black hole. Yammy was making out a tune that made no sense while stomping his foot around. When I told him to remain silent, he would sing out the same tune at a higher decibel. _Childish. _

_Why did Aizen-sama give him the Tenth brand anyway?_

When Yammy and I fell out of the hole, Yammy dragged my hand down even when I tried to avoid the crash - the resulting impact of two Espadas dropping from a height of 30,000 meters was so huge until the humans perceived us to be a meteor strike.

I could sense three strong souls the moment I hit this surface.  
It used to be two – Urahara Kisuke and Shihouin Yoruichi.  
This newly-found third one must be our target then.

Previously, it was an investigative mission; all I was asked to do was to gather information.  
This time, however, actions were required to be taken; I was given authority to determine the life and death of the target. Hence, I concluded this mission as the maiden official mission as an Espada – I reached out for the zipper that had sealed the position of my Hollow hole; and revealed it for the first time. Air blew past the hole and into the back garment of the Espada outfit, I felt like I was breathing via that empty void.

"Are we attracting too much attention?" I asked the hot-headed Espada.  
Yammy was not listening, apparently.

"This place is equally as boring as the previous visit here. The level of spirit particles is so thin here," He grumbled loudly.

_I wanted to disagree because I too, visited Karakura Town.  
In fact, I was sent to observe this town via that screen for a long time._  
"You have to sharpen on your instincts, Yammy," I retorted.

"Eh? Why?"

_I just could not bring myself to tell him, there were people protecting Karakura Town silently. He's just too dumb to understand this sentence._

"Just stop complaining. I did not ask you to come anyway,"

"Uh," Yammy stopped at that thinking word.

"I can complete this mission myself. I'm repeating that sentence twice to you," I shot a glance at Yammy.

"Alright, I'm sorry," Yammy apologized in a nonchalant way._  
As long as you don't hinder me, I don't care what your intentions are, Yammy._

The chattering sounds that came from the humans disrupted my trail of thoughts; and it infuriated that Espada quite a lot. Don't you know that no one can see you in your Arrancar form? I'm beginning to question if he ever was Hollow before – that no one, except for people with high levels of spiritual power, could see him.

_His intellectual level might affect my observations, after all._

Yammy began to inhale deeply and sucked the souls out of every human from within a 10 kilometer radius. Was he that hungry? As the empty shells of the creatures began to collapse one by one, Yammy whined once more, "They taste so awful! It's definitely worse than Hueco Mundo's!"

"That's a sure fact. Nobody told you to eat them. Everyone at Hueco Mundo knows these thin souls don't taste good. You are not a Hollow anymore, so stop acting like one," I replied.

It appeared to me like it was a wrong decision to make Yammy the last Espada of Aizen-sama's army – he still seemed like a Hollow, mentally.  
"What are you supposed to do?" Yammy asked curiously.

"Find the target."

"There's only one target?"

"And take him out if necessary," I continued.

"Do not," I emphasized my instructions to that low-intellect Espada once more.

"Hinder what I'm supposed to do. I'm saying this twice, too." I sighed out.

_Why did you have to step in? Nobody told you to.  
You were not the target._

When I sensed a faint chrome-orange reiatsu charging towards my direction, I had not expected that it was that girl. She had longer hair now, her eyes were still the same – they had a painful expression that was concealed behind all the determination she was trying to show to the world. I had not recalled who she was when she reappeared in front of me; it just felt like a fleeting air of déjà vu – she looked _familiar_, that's all. There was another man that stood beside her and seemed like he was shielding her from Yammy's attack, with an enormous right arm.

_Can't you see how strong we are? Why waste your efforts fighting back?_

I stood there watching how she tried to defend the dark-haired human whose soul was splitting apart because of the tension arising between us and the sudden intruders.

"Ulquiorra!" Yammy yelled.

"Are they the targets?"

"No," I exhaled slowly. "You should use your eyes to look at them carefully. Can't you see that they are worth nothing but trash?"

"Got it," Yammy attacked the man again with the sole thought of eating up his soul. It was an effortless move; that man was too weak for us Espadas.

That was when that girl screamed his name aloud.

_She ran back even though there was impending danger lying ahead.  
Despite the meaningless attempts to shake him awake, she would not give up._

Such human behavior was difficult to comprehend. Are they so desperate to seek death?

"What is she then, Ulquiorra?" Yammy asked._  
It was a difficult question, Yammy._  
It was the first time you asked such a tough question, Décima Espada.

She was not a danger to the both of us; nor was she worthy enough to live either. What was she then?

Yammy decided to rephrase his question after he was unable to get a reply from me.

"Is this lady trash too?"

_Since you asked me in this manner, _

"Yea, she's trash," I closed my eyes and sighed. This woman could have lived if she had escaped with that weak human earlier. Another foolish person, I thought.

_Was it due to my words that time,  
that allowed us to meet again later?  
If we haven't attacked you,  
If you were asleep when we arrived,  
we wouldn't have met at all._

I heard the girl whisper an incantation so softly that Yammy didn't even realize it.  
She said something weird, "Santen Kesshun, I reject!" and managed to guard herself from Yammy's punch in time, leaving a thin crack on her shield. There were a total of six petals that took flight, four on one side, two on the other hairclip – the source of her powers, I presume.

Yammy was taken aback by her sudden defensive move.

Her eyes changed, into a much familiar memory - that orange glitch had the same eyes before. She had a weird look on her eyes – she was uncertain, she was afraid but she wanted to protect everyone.

Ignoring the presence of two Espadas, she stared straight at me and recited another spell.

Was this Kido? Why does it seem like I've not heard any of these from Aizen-sama at all?

"Souten Kisshun!"

An orange oval light surrounded the man's wounded right arm and it began to heal at an alarming rate. Was this a healing incantation? No it does not seem like it. Healing spells close up wounds; hers was completely different. Four more petals disappeared from her hairclips.

_Did you notice what was happening inside that oval, Woman?  
The fragments of that arm were moving in a reverse order – they looked like they were returning home; on their own.  
Even the broken blades of the grass that were lying across the field sprang up to life and regenerated back to normal.  
You are not ordinary, Woman. You are doing things I've never seen before._

"You are definitely a strange one, Woman," I stared straight into her mercury-colored eyes; she said nothing about my remark.

The woman was clenching her fists and her orange-colored hair danced in the wind. She was buying time for an unknown reason; her eyes seemed spaced out, as if she was conjuring up another plan – she raised both arms and pushed out her palms while she moved those lips again; another incantation will be delivered in three seconds.

"An offensive one is on the way, Yammy," I whispered to the mammoth-sized Espada in front of me.

"Tsubaki!" She called out a name, this time the remaining petals on her hairclips flew out and surrounded her palms in the same shade of orange. A huge circle of air surrounded her as the light grew stronger.

"Kouten Zanshun! I reject!" She finished the incantation with a firm and loud voice. The uncertainty in her eyes vanished mysteriously, just like what had happened to that orange head before. The peach-colored light darted towards Yammy like a fierce arrow who managed to crush that attack with one palm. I was almost sure that move was her trump card - there were no more petals left on her forehead; except the ones that will form her shield.

_You are a special child.  
Unfortunately, my motive today is not you._

"What should we do, Ulquiorra? Take her back to Aizen-san?" Yammy had also noticed something unique about this woman.

_Taking her back was not part of Aizen-sama's instructions, Yammy._

"Aizen?" The woman breathed out his name, her eyes trembled slightly upon the mention of the name. If they had met before, Aizen-sama would have instructed me to take her back during this mission. Why didn't he do that?

_What a rude woman.  
It would have been better if Aizen-sama hadn't met this woman._

"Just take her out, Yammy," My eyes narrowed a little. I felt another reiatsu approaching quick – perhaps it would escalate its speed a little more if Yammy were to kill this woman. As expected, a huge blade pointed at Yammy's broad palm seconds before he was about to pound that woman's head.

I glanced at the new intruder. It was that boy Aizen-sama called interesting, Kurosaki Ichigo.

Orange hair fitted the first criterion. I scanned his Shinigami outfit that was waving with the strong wind – how could he possibly be one of us? This mild spiritual level that is lying inside of him – he was not even strong enough to defeat Yammy now.

"Bankai!" He released his zanpakutou without second thoughts. When I took a closer look at his Bankai, he had fitted Aizen-sama's second criterion – he was the target. This time his spiritual pressure had grown denser and stronger – he was above Yammy's level within seconds.

Yammy, what on earth are you doing?  
Are you offering yourself as a stationary sandbag to this boy?  
Haven't you realized he's completely different?

The orange head chopped down Yammy's right arm with his dark blade, quite effortlessly. His blade was strong enough to cut an Espada's skin – which was a rather commendable effort for a mere human.

_Wait a minute, what is this unusual reading I'm getting from him?_

The boy's spiritual energy flickered when Yammy attempted to release his zanpakutou – it resonated just like an Espada, if not higher; then something would hold it down, and it would be back to normal. It peaked every time that woman called out his name; when Yammy attacked her, it would be so huge that it was above my level – he had enough power to take me out, if he really wanted to. Even when he was not moving, the spiritual energy was fluctuating violently. If Yammy was able to take this so-called interesting Substitute Shinigami out without even having to release his sword, there is no doubt that I can label him as a worthless piece of garbage.

Yammy would not have noticed such things.  
In fact, he wasn't even aware that the other two stronger beings were standing under his huge fist._  
Yammy, you are really making things worse._

_Do you even understand when I said, "Don't hinder me."_

I actually had to deflect that attack from Urahara Kisuke; or you would have been long dead.  
Did you have any idea how strong that attack was? It stung my right hand hard – it was stronger than your Cero, _you moron_.

I had wanted to take Kurosaki Ichigo out, but there were two exiled captains from Soul Society acting as his knights at that moment. Even if I asked Yammy to kill Kurosaki Ichigo while I handle the two captains; it would be a tough fight because Karakura Town was less concentrated in spiritual energy than at Hueco Mundo. I should just leave him here, until he gets stronger enough with that unstable spiritual energy of his; then I'll take him out personally when he refuses to join our side.

"Let's go, Yammy. Our job is done here," I opened up the Garganta this time.

"He wasn't even worth killing; he's just more of the usual trash," I said those words before the black hole closed up, staring down at the bloodied forehead of his.

_Not yet_. I'm giving you some more time to live, Kurosaki Ichigo.  
Don't disappoint me the next time I pay you a visit.

_The want of taking your life only occurred later.  
That time, I had a perfect reason to._

_

* * *

_**yu-pon's note:  
**Ha. Arrancar-arc. XDD  
Gomen ne, everyone...it took so long for me to write this.  
Actually I have an announcement to make - it's a very sudden and shocking one so brace yourself.

I'm ending this story, next chapter.  
It's not completely the end actually.  
I'm doing some changes to the title of this story~ and the synopsis.  
(By the time you click this chapter; it should be "White Hibiscus~Filament~")

I'm splitting White Hibiscus up into two/three segments.  
I haven't had this idea initially; but the thought of it came up when I was writing this chapter -  
It's a sudden idea I know -- apologies!!  
It sounds logical to me because the next segment will be Ulquiorra x Orihime.  
(i have to tweak the settings a little ya XDD)  
So I'm ending it in a way, you can choose to continue/or you can choose not to.

Well anyhow, I hope you will enjoy reading the next chapter,  
I never expected this story to be read by so many! Seriously I enjoyed interacting with everyone, you made me write more than I initially expected for this fic - i was intending to end at Chapter 5 haha (covers face)

I'll see everyone at 15! If everyone comes, that is.  
ほなおつー


	15. 十五 Gloomy Games

**White Hibiscus~****ホワイト・ハイビスカス~**

**「十五」 ****Gloomy Games  
**

_Let's play a game, shall we?  
Before we start, we have to listen to the rules._

I dragged Yammy's dismembered arm to the Arrancars in charge of medical aid.

"Ulquiorra-sama!" They rushed up frantically, upon the sight of a huge arm.

"This belongs to the Tenth Espada," I sighed as I recalled how the arm fell out of Yammy's body.

"With this level of injury, I'm afraid..." One of the female Arrancars examined the arm closely.

"Just stick it back."

"Right away!" The female Arrancar ran off to fetch her tools.

Espadas have high levels of regeneration, only if the organs get placed back at their original positions. The nerves and singular cells that are present in the body will repair them in no time. Even if not 100% of the initial power might be regained, it is always better than losing the entire organ itself. The lower the level of the Espada, the slower the organs regenerate - Yammy's arm took him 28 days to recover 60% of his strength.

Approximately twenty days ago, Aizen-sama had taken a new interest.  
It was no longer about that boy anymore.  
Instead, it was her, the orange haired lady and those spells that she used.

She had with her a power that could not even be defined by my analytical skills – she could bend time and space by simply rejecting with her mind.  
"Ulquiorra," Aizen-sama approached me personally.

"Yes?"

"Do you think you can bring this woman over to Las Noches?"

"Yes."

"Well, she's a human girl. So...things are more complicated,"

"Why?" I could not figure out what were the complications.

"You need to lure her,"  
"I'll try my best, Aizen-sama," _To lure a person, a bait is needed right?_  
That was my understanding of the word "lure". Apparently, for humans, it was_ different._

"In order to lure her, you have to _understand_ her,"

"I understand, Aizen-sama,"

"So you have to do your _homework_."

"I will set off right away, Aizen-sama," I took a bow and headed for the door.

"Ulquiorra," Aizen-sama spoke again.

"Her name is Inoue Orihime, just to let you know," Aizen-sama pointed out.

"I will remember that name, Aizen-sama."

"Good. When the time comes, we'll pick her up."

_Rule #1: No cheating. Baits are purely strategical methods.  
_

I stood and studied the way that female Arrancar attempted to patch Yammy's arm back to position. She connected the arm using bandages and stitched the wound with larger needles. Yammy was whining away at the amount of time consumed to treat the wound without realizing how lucky he was to be able to see his fallen arm.

"At the very least, you still have your arm," I replied.

"Yeah,"

"Unlike someone else who lost his arm completely, your rank as an Espada is still intact," I reminded Yammy how fortunate he was. _  
So, stop complaining, Yammy._

"Aizen-sama is calling for us," I headed out of his room. The stench of red blood was filling up the entire place – Yammy had crushed the head of the medic that had just completed her treatment sessions with him; he did that just to show off that his hand had been fixed. Trash or not, it was just not the right situation to display his prowess.

Yammy asked, "Why do you think Aizen-sama wants to see us now?"  
"If he wants to see us, he must have his own reasons. By seeing him, we'll know the reason why,"

We reached the huge white door after three long corridors. All the Espadas have gathered except for the two of us, with Aizen-sama in the middle of a huge trapezium-like crystal display.

It was to mark the birth of another new Arrancar while demonstrating the abilities of the Hougyoku. Aizen-sama also took this opportunity to let the Espadas know that the Hougyoku will fully awake in two months.

Everyone present did not say a word when Aizen-sama placed the orb into the glass-like crystal – we were observing how we had been born. I was staring directly at how I must have looked like before I opened this pair of eyes – wrapped entirely in bandages and listening to each and every soul; how these people were judging you. I had remembered those details all over again – the three figures, the name that I was given and the numerical brand on the left side of my chest. The only thing that differed was that I did not have such a huge audience to witness mine. As the crystal shattered into a thousand fragments, the Arrancar tore the bandages apart in a violent manner - it looked up at Aizen-sama and breathed out his own name.

"You still remember, Ulquiorra? The orders I gave you a month ago?" Aizen-sama turned his attention towards me.

"Yes, Aizen-sama,"

"Execute it, Ulquiorra. I'm giving you the authority to take whoever you want for the mission,"  
"Understood, Aizen-sama,"

_Rule #2. It's okay to use a few decoys to confuse the enemies._

"Do you want to come along too..." Aizen-sama looked at the other figure sitting at the top of the corner pillar.

"Grimmjow?" Aizen-sama completed his sentence. He had just given the _former_ Espada a chance to participate in this mission.

"Have you decided, Ulquiorra?" Aizen-sama asked.

"Yes," I nodded once.

"Yammy, Luppi and..." My eyes crossed paths with the partially-handicapped blue-haired panther.

"Grimmjow," I sighed.

_Rule #3. Personal grudges aside, it's only a game._

"Good. Oh, and take Wonderweiss with you too," the leader of Las Noches smiled.  
Aizen-sama would then return to his room and observe how the fights would go about via those screens.

Yammy was excited about heading back to Karakura Town again.  
"Let's have some more fun again!" It looks like he has not learned from his painful lesson yet.

"I'll be watching everyone from the other side," I warned them not to do foolish things.

"Just create _necessary_ havoc will do," I shot a glance at Grimmjow, the most rebellious among the four of them.  
Grimmjow glanced at me once before he turned into the Garganta.

_I have not determined how the game should be played.  
Will you still want to play?_

_That's right, because if you said no, I'll start taking lives._

As I overlooked the three Espadas crossing over to the real world, I proceeded to open up another dark hole.

_Let the die be cast, Aizen-sama._

_Are you game enough, Woman?_

_

* * *

_**yu-pon's note and the tiny tiny explanations:  
**Kyaa *receives bashing from everyone* --  
Thank you for reading this chapter!  
_I ended it like that because... the 'abduction' part is an introduction of a new arc~_  
This story started with how Ulquiorra came into this world; so it should end with how he saw himself coming into the world (via Wonderweiss)  
_too much reading in between the lines? _

Filament is a part of the Hibiscus flower. ( i did not take biology but.. haha thank you google)  
Well, it a cluster of thin sticks that juts out from the long stalk that protudes out of the petal? XDD

"Let the die be cast";  
so Aizen-sama casted the die - it means Ulquiorra goes on a '_point of no return_'. (smiles)  
it has a lot of meaning to that right. *nods nods*

* * *

**little thank-you's:**

I wish to thank everyone (all the visitors), who has read/supported silently/loved and hated it.  
You spurred my imagination to fly further, (^_^)o

I wish to thank those who wrote reviews! Seriously Chapter 6 to 15 were written because I saw the reviews.  
I used to write oneshots in forums so.. XDD Chapter 15 is like a feat to me.  
(let alone to attempt another segment heehee.)

I also want to thank Kubo-sensei for breathing life into Ulquiorra-san.

With that!  
Thank you for reading White Hibiscus : Filament~!  
yu-pon deshitaaaa~~!!! (jumps back into the bunny hole)


End file.
